during the opening ceremony of the london olympics the athletes parade might as well have been a catwalk show with some of fashions biggest names armani prada ralph lauren stella mccartney designing the team uniformswho said sportswear cant be chicmany in the fashion industry are already calling this the most stylish olympics ever the italians must be some of the bestdressed athletes scoring points with an understated monochrome kit in navy and white by giorgio armani as well as waterproof blue designs for their sailing team by prada stella mccartney has worked with adidas to design the sporting gear and village wear for britains home team though the outfits werent on the show as athletes covered up in white and gold tracksuits mccartneys gear takes inspiration from the iconic union flag but she said she deconstructed it to make it more delicate and feminine look out for them on the track and at the pool red is sparingly used to highlight a palette that mostly features white and shades of blue turquoise navy cobalt meanwhile the american team may have gotten a barrage of bad press for it made in china ralph lauren uniforms but the preppy designs were still some of the most stylish in the arena cleancut navy blazers crisp white trousers skirts and shoes accessorized with navy berets and blue red and white striped scarves the jamaican team is in the spotlight because of sprinter usain bolt so its fitting that it also got a boost in the fashion stakes this year their kit which features the national colors and lightninglike prints was designed by cedella marley daughter of legendary singer bob marley for puma the styles were modeled by a flamboyantly dancing bolt at a london catwalk recently cedella marley brings island color to team jamaica a sea of tropical yellow green and black said avril graham harpers bazaar executive fashion and beauty editor on fridaythis year other designers behind the olympics include the luxury label hermes which has designed riding jackets for the french equestrian team and salvatore ferragamo which designed the official uniform for the tiny european republic of san marino some designers didnt get involved in the official olympics gear but used the games as an opportunity to cash in and promote their brands anyway karl lagerfeld for example launched an olympicthemed womenswear collection called team karl at london department store selfridges though he reportedly said he wouldnt tune in to watch the games meanwhile highstreet chain store hm said it was launching two popup stores dedicated to selling sportswear in london fridays athletes parade also showcased some surprising and less popular designs the german team was notable for not using their national colors at all instead the kit was all hot pink for the womens jackets and cornflower blue for the men both was paired with white trousers the czechs meanwhile wore bright blue wellington rain boots paired with white shorts spectators also made their own