In the performance room, at the Coq sportif headquarters in Romilly (Aube), sketches, materials, colors, threads and textures are spread out on panels. It is there, and in his Parisian workshop, out of sight, that Stéphane Ashpool designed the outfits that French athletes will wear during the Paris Games, revealed this Tuesday.
Gradients of blue or red, the three colors of the national flag intermingling, metallic snaps or even feathers and sequins. Each material has been tested, the smallest detail studied. “It was a long process of inspiration, I did a lot of dyeing and embroidery tests, I went all the way, just to feel it,” says Stéphane Ashpool.
Why the choice of ecru
Even the rooster that adorns all the outfits has been challenged. “I had created crests with different thread movements, it was tweaked, that’s the game. All these tests allowed me to nourish myself. On arrival, there were fewer fantasies, but we had to go through this phase of free expression and too bad if everything didn’t work out,” he explains.
VIDEO. Kimono, cycling suit, cap… Here are the outfits of French athletes for the Olympics
For most of the outfits, particularly those common to the entire delegation (village, podium, training), the choice quickly turned to ecru, rather than the more usual “paper white” or blue. » “I wanted to return to a fairly century-old, heritage color,” says Ashpool. There is something elegant about wearing ecru for athletes who also wanted to be clear and bright. »
All the models exhibited in Romilly-sur-Seine (Aube), including the catwalk outfit (center on the mannequin). LP/Olivier Arandel
There were also numerous discussions with the athletes, in order to learn about their backgrounds and understand their desires and aspirations. Keywords appeared: “Elegant, modern, bright, irregular, ambition, energy, mix.” »
A blue-white-red gradient on all outfits
“We tried to translate all of this, to interpret these words of athletes in our own way and with our technical means,” summarizes the designer. With one obvious fact: the life of an athlete is not linear, it is made up of emotions, exploits, disappointments, hence the idea of the curve on the training outfits. “Because to get to a medal, the path is winding. » The stripes on the outfits thus recall “the movement, the vibrations” of the athletes.
The interior of the jackets has also been worked in a blue-white-red gradient. LP/Olivier Arandel
Blue, white and red blending together. Stéphane Ashpool created a gradient, translating the colors of the tricolor flag. We find it on all outfits, but not necessarily in the same places, and more or less pronounced, depending on the piece. The gradient is thus very visible on certain training t-shirts, it appears on a thin strip of the village outfit (and on the shoes), and more discreetly, on the Coq sportif badge of the judokas’ kimono.
The designer had initially imagined outfits with the word “France” transcribed with a mirror effect. However, he came up against the complexity of the specifications provided by the International Olympic Committee. Too dazzling in particular, and not necessarily regulatory, the mirror effect has been discarded. Stéphane Ashpool then focused on this gradient, sometimes reproduced with a matte, metallic or shiny effect and which serves as a link between all the outfits of the French teams.
The Blues’ suitcase for the Games. LP/Olivier Arandel
For the 100% French podium outfit, Stéphane Ashpool drew from the archives of Le Coq sportif, which the granddaughter of Émile Camuset, the founder of the brand, treasures. In the catalog for 1960, the year of the Rome Games, a photo caught Stéphane Ashpool’s eye: that of the French athletes on the podium.
A “sober” podium outfit: “it will give it a chic side”
To dress those who will receive a medal next summer, he took inspiration from the outfits worn by Michel Jazy and the others, and modernized them. The cut has been revised, a touch of comfort has been added. “We tried to add little details,” says Stéphane Ashpool, showing the pants.
“We put clips on, it’s sober, with a little shine. It was my way of translating the bright and elegant sides that the athletes wanted. The idea was also that the athlete, when he goes to collect his medal, wears a suit more than a jogging suit, this will give him a chic side,” he adds.
Attention to detail right down to the soles
From September 2022, the first outfits were presented to Tony Estanguet and certain athletes. “As soon as they put on the village and training outfits, I felt something was happening. The feedback was spontaneous: Stéphane, you are sure you are going to do this piece, I want it, we look so beautiful in this outfit! For the first time I felt the result of our work. »
Some athletes were particularly attracted by the Teddy jacket, with blue sleeves and a satin effect. Even the interior has been worked on, still with this blue-white-red gradient. The same goes for the shoes that the French athletes will wear in the village, with an insole in the colors of the tricolor flag.
The shoes were also very well cared for. LP/Olivier Arandel
Each piece imagined by Stéphane Ashpool and his team brings a style: “More than the pieces, it’s the complete looks that I like,” emphasizes the stylist. I like the skater outfit, shirt and pants, quite simple with a tank top, which gives a very summery look. I love the podium outfit, very refined. It’s hard to choose! »
Stéphane Ashpool had even considered an outfit… Élysée, the one that the athletes would wear, the day after the Games, for the reception organized by the President of the Republic. A project that remained, however, in the designer’s imagination.
