Noelle Ng: Surreal gymnasts

A Li-Ning design team based in Hong Kong has been working with China's star-studded national diving, gymnastics, table tennis and shooting teams for years.

"The 2008 Olympic sportswear for those teams will have a futuristic feel," said Hong Kong designer Noelle Ng, the leader of the six-member group.

The team started the project in January last year and it took them four months to generate the idea.

"Graphic lines introduce a modern mood, creating sleek, high sheen finishes with bold, fractured, cut-and-sew techniques. Metallic effects are important, especially in the trim," she said.

Among the four teams, divers and gymnasts have higher requirements in terms of fabrics, designs and artistic presentation.

"We spare no effort to find the best fabrics in the world and we don't have any restrictions on our budget," she said.

In order to become more familiar with the athletes, Ng paid several visits to the diving and gymnastics teams and collected suggestions.

"Divers Guo Jingjing and Wang Feng told me their favorite colors and fabrics and they didn't have many requirements for the design. They prefer simple and comfortable clothing."

Male athletes had more to say on the issue.

"They have a very good sense of style and a lot of ideas," Ng said.

The team responded to their enthusiasm by taking a more arty approach.

"Inspired by surrealism in art, dance and culture, we tried to create a fantastic mood capable of swelling into a glamorous night-time drama. Vivid colors, high shine and bold feminine colors make for a seductive futuristic look," she said.

Zhang Yan: Into Africa

For veteran sports designer Zhang Yan, making running outfits for African athletes has been an exciting experience.

Last year, Li-Ning began to sponsor several famous athletes in Africa, including Ethiopian marathon star Ambesse Tolossa and the athletics teams of Tanzania and Sudan.

"I was very excited when I heard that I would be designing for African athletes," said Zhang, who developed the award ceremony clothing for the Chinese delegation at the 2004 Athens Games.

"I have never been to Africa but I have a very strong impression of their unique cultures and environment.

"When I first thought about the continent, a few elements came out: bright colors, wild animals, vast desert, strong sunshine and shining medals."

Zhang said the communication between the designers and the athletes has usually run smoothly.

"They have given us their ideas about the clothes, for example, asking if they can reflect the colors of their national flags," she said.

For Tanzanians, their sportswear should be yellow and green while the Sudanese prefer red and green.

"Designing the clothes for the marathon runners is the most challenging job as the sport needs very comfortable and supportive materials and designs."

Zhang also had to accommodate the longer limbs and slimmer bodies of the fat-free African athletes.

"They usually need smaller sizes than our Chinese athletes and we need to measure them carefully one by one."

Liu Qiuhua: Retro chic

"I hope our Chinese fans can wear our new collection of vintage uniforms for China's Olympic delegations as they watch the Beijing Games and cheer for our athletes," said Liu Qiuhua, a young designer from Li-Ning.

Li-Ning has provided the award ceremony clothing for China's Olympic delegations since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

To help China remember the highlights of its Olympic history, Li-Ning has developed a series of vintage clothing for the country's Olympic delegation that will hit the market soon.

"The price will be quite affordable at around 200-300 yuan apiece ($30-45)," he said.

The uniform worn by the Chinese delegation at the Sydney Games in 2000 was proving hard to beat in terms of stylistic flourishes, he added.

"That was so far the best design featuring traditional Chinese images such as the dragon and phoenix," he said. "Meanwhile the rainbow design (for Athens 2004) played with abstract and international design language."

Previous efforts were simpler.

"The red and yellow 1992 collection was very simple and straightforward with only two Chinese characters for the word 'China' on the front.

"Then we only made a few changes for the 1996 version, which also used the colors of our national flag."

(China Daily 05/09/2008 page16)