The big reveal of the Team GB kit back in March isn't the only big collection launch that Stella McCartney and Adidas are working on. This week the sports brand announced the launch of the official British villagewear collection.
Unlike the main kit, the village wear range is geared at catering to the needs of the athletes when they are not competing so all of the pieces are relaxed and comfortable, whilst also playing with bright colours to keep things interesting. 'The inspiration for the villagewear collection was to create a more relaxed kit that remained stylish yet comfortable for the athletes,' McCartney said in a statement. 'It was also important to unify the team, as the one piece of information hat really stuc with me when I talked to the athletes aout this project, was how they want to feel as a team in the village, to feel like they are one voice and one nation.'
Last month Pantene announced that they are working with TeamGB track cyclist Victoria Pendleton but she's not the only person the brand are partnering with. Yesterday they revealed thatZooey Deschanel is their new face.
Deschanel, who follows in the footsteps of stars like Eva Mendes and Naomi Watts, is the fact of their Beautiful Lengths Collection, which will drop this August on print, online and on TV. 'I am so excited to be a part of the Pantene family,' she said in a release. 'Anyone who knows me knows that I am really into hair. I'm a real girly girl and love doing my hair and experimenting with different styles.'
With less than 100 days until London hosts the 2012 Olympics, all eyes are on TeamGB girls and not just in the way you would expect. Over the last few weeks, four key members of the team have been announced as the face of various beauty brands.
Last week Pantene announced that they have brought track cyclist Victoria Pendleton on board as the face of their latest beauty campaign; a move which is part of Proctor & Gamble's (their parent company) worldwide Olympic partner status with the London games. 'It makes so much sense to me that a female athlete would be a beauty ambassador,' Pendleton said in a statement. 'Part of being beautiful is being healthy, but I don't think people realize when they look at us that we want to be healthy from head to toe and that includes having healthy, beautiful hair.' This is particularly special for Pantene as the partnership marks the first time they have partnered with an athlete in this way and will see Pendleton join the likes of Liv Tyler as one of thir brand ambassadors.
We're not even half way through 2012 and the year has already proved a big one for Stella McCartney. Already this year she has celebrated turning 40 years-old, although you would never guess from seeing her in the flesh, and it also marks the 10th anniversary of her label. Not bad for a designer who was initially snubbed by the fashion industry and publicly criticised by Karl Lagerfeld after she was announced as his successor at Chloé back in 1997. 'I think they should have taken a big fashion name,' he said at the time. 'They did, but in music, not fashion.'
Despite the initial criticism, McCartney couldn't be doing any better right now. According to the most recent reports, profits at her brand are up by 4.4% and her freestanding stores internationally now tally up at around 24 including her amazing new Brompton Cross space which houses all of her lines including her much loved kidswear collection - and that's not all. Back in 2010 she was announced as the first fashion designer charged with creating the Olympics kit for the British team.
It's been two years since Stella McCartney was announced as the creative director of Adidas Team GB so to say that the kit she has designed for this year's Olympics has been highly anticipated would be quite the understatement. After all, it's been a long time in the making but as we all expected, the designer failed to disappoint.
The full Olympics kit was presented by this years althletes in a runway-like format that was staged in a cinema in the grounds of the Tower of London, which served as the perfect backdrop for the event as the world's press covered the surrounding streets ready to report on the action. Along with the performance technologies that you would expect from Adidas, McCartney also made it clear that she didn't want to compromise on style. In the opening video before the big reveal she made it clear that it was a priority to make the athletes feel confident in what they are wearing to make sure they could perform.
Aesthetically, the kit focused on the Union Jack. 'The first place to start on a project like this is to look at the Union flag,' she said. 'For me it's one of the most beautiful flags in the world and it was important for me to stay true to that iconic design but also to modernise it and present it in a contemporary way.' This came through especially on the arrangement of the colours. With the flags McCartney traded the red in the union jack for turqoise and instead incorporated it on the shoes and collars of the clothes.
More than anything, the event made us all excited about the Olympics coming to London. We've all known that it's coming since 2005 but after the big reveal it finally feels like it's really here.
Are you excited about the Olympics and what do you think of the kit?
It's all systems go at Stella McCartney at the moment. This week the brand are preparing for the launch of their second iPad app, which will be available for download on iTunes next week, which develops on the Stella's World section of the website. Following in the foosteps of brands like Balenciaga, McCartney is bracing all things interactive with the new app, which will featurie a gallery of images from the recently launched 'Linda McCartney: a life in photographs' book as well as behind-the-scenes images of the Team GB campaign shot by Jacob Sutton.
But it's not all about the app. If - like us - you're a fan of the brand, you'll find yourself bookmarking their revamped website as it's new features take it beyond the usual e-commerce site. Candid behind-the-scenes shots from their latest campaign appear alongside images of celebs like Liv Tyler sporting the fall collection and shots from the show. If you're looking for that little bit extra you'll like the private wardrobing on offer. At the click of a button you can book their personalised concierge style in store service, which provides a car, private store appointments and personal styling sessions.
The brand now delivers to an additional 28 European countries.
