Celebrity Life
Eileen Gu’s Million-Dollar Brand Collaborations And Endorsements
Eileen Gu is an 18-year-old freestyle skier competing for China at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. On 8 February, she won a gold medal in the women’s freeski big air competition. Six days later, she followed it up with a silver in the women’s ski slopestyle competition.
With two medals in her first Olympics at age 18, Eileen Gu not only entered history books and cemented her name as one of the greatest in her game but also justified the phenomenal popularity she has enjoyed even before her participation in this year’s Games.
Eileen Gu and how she became a magnet for global brands
A multicultural phenomenon
Eileen Gu was born to an American father and a Chinese mother, who was herself a skier. Her multicultural identity has made Gu the perfect candidate for some of the world’s most famous brands.
But those are not the only factors. Gu has been a prodigy since childhood, setting records on the snow like none other before her. Her accomplishment as a skier at a very young age is the reason Gu has been a favourite at the Games.
Initially, she played as an athlete for the US. According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), Gu, who is fluent in Mandarin, decided to play for China after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at a Winter Olympics preparatory event in 2019.
Her notable medal wins following the decision to represent China include two golds and one bronze at the Winter X Games, where Gu became the first female rookie to participate and win in three disciplines.
Gu also became the first Chinese woman to win multiple golds at the 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships in Aspen.
In 2020, she became the youngest athlete at age 17 to be featured in Forbes ‘30 under 30’.
Evidently, her popularity in China skyrocketed. Her Weibo account has around 5 million followers. To young Chinese, Gu is a powerful inspiration.
For Gu, her shared American and Chinese roots provide an opportunity to be the perfect representative for brands in two of the world’s biggest markets.
Face of acclaimed labels
In 2021, Gu was endorsing 16 brands and the following year, she added seven more labels from the USA and China combined to her portfolio. This is a testimony to her rapidly rising popularity even before this year’s Olympics.
She models for some of the world’s biggest fashion, jewellery and makeup brands, including Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, Victoria’s Secret and Tiffany & Co. In China, Gu is the face of major businesses such as China Mobile, Anta, Bank of China, and JD.com.
Gu frequently shares her modelling assignments on her Instagram account, where she now commands a following of more than 1 million — roughly over five times the number in January 2022.
A post from October 2021 shows Gu standing before The Louvre glass pyramid in Paris, France, where she attended the Louis Vuitton SS22 at the Paris Fashion Week. Interestingly, the glass structure is a creation of Chinese-American architect IM Pei.
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One of her Instagram posts shows Gu using wellness technology major Therabody’s Theragun on her thigh.
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She appeared in the promotion of Louis Vuitton Twist bags in December 2021 and was named the brand ambassador of the Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen the following month.
Gu has appeared for the 2021 Give Me The T campaign of Tiffany & Co. Nearly all her endorsements can be seen on her Instagram page.
Followers can also see numerous posts of Gu gracing the cover of top luxury lifestyle magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, In Style China, Cosmopolitan, SuperELLE China and Vogue.
According to market research firm CBNData, Gu earned an estimated USD 31.4 million in 2021. This places her among the highest-earning female athletes in the world. Interestingly, Quartz pointed out that Forbes did not include Gu in its list of the highest-paid female athletes in 2021.
Had she been included, the skier would have ranked third — behind tennis stars Naomi Osaka (USD 57.3 million) and Serena Williams (USD 45.9 million).
Her style is followed by millions in China and world over. Following her gold medal win, her fame is only going to rise.
(Main and Featured images: Eileen Gu/eileen_gu_/Instagram)
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Winter Olympics Uniforms 2022: Team Outfits and the Brands Who Designed Them
Like all Olympics, the Beijing 2022 Winter Games are as much about fashion as it is about sports. The participating teams are dressed in some of the most technologically advanced and stylish outfits to make the best impression, whether during play or at ceremonies.
Around 2,880 athletes from 91 delegations will be present in Beijing from 4 to 20 February 2022 for the Winter Olympics. The mega sporting event will be followed by the Paralympics from 4 to 13 March 2022.
The 2022 Winter Games will have 15 disciplines and 109 events. The disciplines are part of seven sports — biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing.
Competitors will be participating in their respective events hosted at 13 venues in Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Yanqing.
Official team outfits
The official uniforms of all teams are connected to their respective nation’s flags, traditions and culture. However, they may also doff a hat to the host city — Beijing.
The outfits are designed to protect the athletes from cold weather, which might tilt towards the extreme at the 2022 Winter Olympics. At the same time, the top fashion labels creating these uniforms assure the clothes can be worn even when the temperature is not too cold.
So, who is wearing what at the spectacular event?
Australia
Sportscraft has designed the official Winter Olympics uniforms of the Australian team members. The Australian brand is also the supplier of the uniforms, which will be worn during and after the Games at the team and Olympic ceremonies.
The uniform features a dark-green wool-blend coat. On the inside lining of the coat are the names of all 265 Australian Winter Olympians, starting with Kenneth Kennedy, who was the first to represent the country when it debuted in the 1936 Games.
The buttons bear the Australian Olympic crest. Volley, an Australian footwear brand, is the official shoe designer for athletes.
Russian Olympic Committee
In 2019, Russia was barred by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from competing as a country because of the doping scandal that surfaced in 2016. The ban was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2020, though the term was reduced to two years from four.
As such, Russian players compete as members of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). This is why their official uniform does not bear the nation’s flag or logo. Thus, the Beijing Olympics outfits in 2022 for Russian athletes have ROC’s symbol of the three flames in red, white and blue over the Olympic rings.
Since 2017, Russian Olympians have been wearing clothes designed and created by Zasport. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, they’ll be seen donning a wide range of clothes and accessories, including T-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, bum bags, jackets, and full-face ski masks. Though the main colours of the uniforms are red, white and blue, cyan and its shades are present in almost all styles.
The United States of America (USA)
Ralph Lauren is the principal official outfitter of the US Winter Olympics team. As such, Team USA athletes will be seen wearing hooded anoraks, beanies and gloves at the opening ceremony crafted by the fashion house, with boots in red and white colourways to complete the look.
For Team USA's opening ceremony appearance, Ralph Lauren uniforms have navy blue as the dominant colour for the outfits for women and white for the men.
The US national flag and the words “USA” are emblazoned on the jackets. The US Olympic logo is present on the jackets, beanies, gloves, pants and leggings. All clothing items include polyester fibre made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles.
The most interesting feature of the jacket is its Intelligent Insulation technology, which is battery or wired tech that expands or contracts the fabric with temperature change. This allows the wearer to extend the use of the anorak.
For the closing ceremony, the athletes will wear Ralph Lauren lumberjack-style down jackets over turtleneck sweaters.
Individual US teams participating in the Winter Olympics also have other clothing brands as official outfit creators, adding more variety to the Team USA collection.
The US Alpine Ski Team will be dressed in clothing designed by Spyder — the official partner of the team since 1989. The new design, which is a work of Eric Haze, sports the star symbol on the hood of the team’s jacket. Gore-Tex fabrics, Primaloft ECO insulation and YKK zippers are part of the outwear.
The curling team will be dressed in Columbia Sportswear. The jersey of the athletes is made of stretch fabrics. Their jackets have Omni-Heat insulation technology and the design incorporates elements of curling, with four wide stripes, representing the four members who compete. It also features swoops that signify the movement of the stone on ice.
The US Snowboard Team’s outfit is made by Volcom and carries the brand’s famous collage print prominently on the jacket.
Nike is the official partner for podium outfits. American athletes who win medals will, therefore, be dressed in light-blue hooded jackets and darker blue shade tracksuit bottoms. The famous Nike Swoosh features on the right chest of the uniform and the “USA” logo, positioned vertically on the back, is stylised in a way that reads the same from any direction.
Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand SKIMS, the official undergarment outfitter for Team USA, has launched a range of loungewear, athletic apparel and sleepwear in the official team colours of red, white and blue.
Great Britain
The official outfit for Team GB is being made for the second time by Ben Sherman.
For the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, the British athletes will wear a quilted navy-blue peacoat over a deep roll-neck sweater in cream colour, which has a deconstructed Union Jack flag on it.
The back of the peacoat bears the words “Great Britain” in reflective lettering. The mini-dogtooth print trousers are in navy blue. Accessories include a set of a bobble hat and a scarf, and the athletes are geared with lug sole Chelsea boots.
For the closing ceremony, there is a blue crew-neck checked sweater with the mini-dogtooth print trouser returning alongside a bobble hat.
Except for the boots, the outfit has been in retail as the Ben Sherman x Team GB collection since December 2021.
The other outfit has been created by Adidas, including the “Podium” look. It comprises a hooded and mid-layer jacket with colours sky blue and navy blue on either side of the zip. It is made with Parley Ocean Plastic and PrimaLoft insulation.
China
When Chinese athletes go to the podium to receive their medals this time, they will be dressed in what has been dubbed the ‘Champion Dragon Clothes’.
Hong Kong fashion icon Timmy Yip is the Winter Olympics uniforms’ designer for China. According to Chinese state media CGTN, the design is inspired by the Chinese character “Zhong” and the culture of the country.
Mainly in red and white, the outfit for the Chinese athletes at the Winter Olympics features a knot button and stand collar. A red line running down the centre represents Beijing as the kernel of the world’s sporting scene as the host city.
"The stand collar and knot button are distinctive and simple. The red lines on the two sides, together with the line in the middle form the Chinese character 'Zhong', giving people a mobile sense of climbing up," Yip was quoted as saying by CGTN.
China also unveiled a uniform with self-heating thermal underwear and non-slip boots for presentation parties. The uniforms are in three types, named “Lucky Snow and Cloud,” “Great Landscape” and “Flying Snow in Tang dynasty.” Each of the sets is completed with a hat and a pair of gloves.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), organisers described the uniforms’ design as having been inspired by “traditional Tang dynasty fabrics and other traditional Chinese cultural elements.”
Canada
Team Canada squad has two different outfits for the opening and closing ceremonies. While they will be dressed head-to-toe in red for the opening day on 4 February, all-cream attires will be donned on the last day 20 February.
The uniforms are designed by Vancouver-based athleisure company Lululemon. Fairly simple in style and sporty in appearance, they consist of vests, zip-ups, full parkas, down jackets, joggers, and trapper caps, among other clothing. The outfits can be modified, such as the down jacket can be carried like a backpack if the temperature rises.
The material is breathable, insulated, sweat-wicking, bacteria-inhibiting, and resistant to water and wind.
Lululemon has designed the kit in collaboration with the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC).
"The look and the outfits, it's honestly just Canada reimagined," Frederique Turgeon, Canadian para-alpine skier, was quoted as saying by CBC.
Germany
Adidas unveiled Germany’s official uniforms for the Winter Olympics and the Winter Paralympics at Düsseldorf in November 2021.
Red, black and yellow — colours of the German national flag — have been reinterpreted to create a harmonious connection with the host city of Beijing. The black colour is specifically dubbed "timeless black".
The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) also worked with Adidas to create the official German outfit.
According to Inside the Games, Adidas design director Melina Hartmann said that the uniform “represents courage and strength."
Japan
Japan is the first Asian country to have participated in the Winter Olympics and also the first Asian country to host the Games.
At the Winter Olympics, the Japanese contingent will wear navy blazers when travelling to and from Beijing. This is besides the national flag-inspired red-coloured sports jackets. The bottoms are pale grey.
The Japan Olympic Association (JOC) also released the Team Japan emblem, which has the five Olympic rings and the national flag on it. The emblem will appear on all outfits and all sports that Japan takes part in.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is sending its largest-ever contingent to the Winter Olympics with a squad of 113 athletes. At Pyeongchang, the Czech Republic won seven medals, including two golds.
Thus, hopes are high for the team at this year’s Winter Olympics, as it is also the first time that the country is participating in all the 15 disciplines at the Games.
So, what are they wearing?
The official kit for the Czech Republic has a white jacket with red and blue stripes forming geometric shapes. It is paired with a blue beanie with red and white stripes and matching gloves.
Finland
The Finnish Winter Olympic team’s outfit is created by Lahti-based sportswear Luhta Sportswear Company’s brand Icepeak.
The brand was also behind the team’s uniform for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.
For Beijing, the brand has created the collection, keeping in mind a layered clothing style. The outfits are weatherproof.
According to the Finnish Olympic Committee, the Icepeak x Suomen olympiajoukkue collection is inspired by variations of Arctic winter, permafrost and light.
Blue and white, the traditional colours of Finnish official Olympic dresses, are present with a much wider layer of grey. The jackets are trendy and come in three patterns — all-grey, white with grey, and navy blue with white.
Bobble hats and caps in traditional blue and navy blue, respectively, add a dash of style to the outfits. The designs of the outfits make them wearable on formal and informal occasions at the Games.
The collection comes with a bag made from renewable materials that have a lower carbon footprint and lower water consumption.
Switzerland
Albright, a brand of Ochsner Sport, is the creator of the official uniform of Switzerland’s delegation.
"We wanted Swissness and received Swissness," Susanne Böhlen, head of Olympic team support at Swiss Olympic, was quoted as saying by Inside the Games.
Like many other countries, Switzerland’s outfits, too, have been designed using sustainable materials, and they come with heat retention properties.
The jackets are in two shades of red, one of which is in the traditional colour of the Swiss flag. While lowers are in all-red and all-black, accessories include red and white beanies and red gloves.
Ski bags and boot bags are also available. If it gets a little warm, athletes can switch to white T-shirts and red caps.
Sweden
Uniqlo joined hands with the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) for the second time after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to design the outfits for the delegation from Sweden at the Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Games in 2022.
The Japanese brand worked with the athletes and tested the fabrics at various temperatures, keeping in mind the weather in Beijing. The result is a collection that is beautiful in design and useful for even harsh winters.
According to WWD, Masahiko Furuta, Uniqlo’s chief designer, said that they came up with a “smart layering system,” which lets athletes wear four distinct layers either together or on their own.
The base fabric has wicking properties, allows insulation and is a high stretch. Additionally, there is a stretch fleece and a woven Ultra Light Down variant of Uniqlo. The hybrid down jackets incorporate a new technology that keeps athletes warm in extreme temperatures and has innovative mesh technology and 3D knit for breathability.
Uniqlo has also designed the clothes for Sweden’s freestyle ski team, freestyle snowboarding, moguls and curling teams.
Recycled materials have been used in 70 percent of the collection. Certain creations, such as the light down jackets, have 100 percent recycled down and feathers. The ultra-stretch active dry innerwear has recycled polyester from recycled plastic bottles.
The dark navy colour of the hybrid down jacket comes from a natural indigo dye.
Kazakhstan
Team Kazakhstan will wear one of the most vibrant designs at the Winter Olympics. Created by Russian designer Dmitry Shishkin with Kazakh company ZIBROO, the outfit reflects Kazakh traditions through the use of a special font for inscriptions.
While the blue and white colours of the outfit represent water, ice and snow, black symbolise good luck in Kazakh culture.
(Main and Featured images: Kazakhstan Olympic Team/@olympickz/Instagram; Team GB/@teamgb/Instagram)
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Things to Know About Olympic Skier Eileen Gu
Beijing is all geared up to host the 2022 Winter Olympics from 4 February to 20 February. This time, the host country has high hopes from 18-year-old freeskiing champion Eileen Gu. And that’s not all. She is one of the most accomplished teenagers in the game out there.
Born in the US to a Chinese mother and American father, Gu decided to swap her American team to represent China at 15.
From breaking records on the slopes to starring in many international modelling campaigns and even getting offers from top global universities, she has several golden feathers in her hat.
From the Chinaese contingent, Gu is the sportsperson to look out for in big air, halfpipe and slopestyle competitions.
Here’s all you must know about this rising Olympic star
Representing China
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Gu announced the major news, in 2019, on her Instagram when she changed her teams for the 2022 Games. Having found her love and passion for freeskiing, Gu decided to represent her mother’s native place.
In her post, she explains, “The opportunity to help inspire millions of young people during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, my mother's birthplace, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to promote the sport I love.”
Freeskiing accolades
Right from the beginning, Gu has proved to be the freeskiing prodigy that she is. Her recent achievement was when she bagged two golds and one bronze at the Winter X Games. She made a record with her unmatched form by becoming the first female rookie to participate and win in three disciplines.
The winning streak continued when she entered the 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships in Aspen to become the first Chinese woman to win multiple golds.
That is not all. Gu wrapped up the year with many records, which include becoming the first woman to stand a Double Cork 1440 on the Stubai Glacier in Austria.
Her winning repertoire is quite long and illustrious. In 2020, she emerged as the freeskiing star in the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) at Lausanne, Switzerland. Gu grabbed golds in halfpipe and big air events, as well as a silver in slopestyle.
Inspired by the 2008 Olympics and her love for promoting this rather male-dominated winter sport, Gu is focused on taking on the slopes for the 2022 biggie. Her mother, an avid skier herself, had taken her on her first ski adventure at the tender age of just three months.
Academic brilliance
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Shining not just in sports, Gu excels in academics as well. She has received an offer from the globally renowned Stanford University, her mother’s alma mater. However, the plans of starting school have to wait for the upcoming 2022 Olympic Games.
Having faced negative comments for her American upbringing from the Asian community and championing a male-dominated sport, Gu is a strong advocate of gender equality and representation of women in sports.
Modelling campaigns
Besides dedicating her heart and soul to freeskiing, Gu is also quite the fashionista and has several brand endorsements and modelling assignments to her credit. Already featured in Forbes ‘30 under 30’ in 2020, Gu became the youngest athlete to make it to the list at 17.
Representing several international brands, like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Gucci and Fendi, this athlete is setting major fashion goals with her jaw-dropping style statements. She has contracts with the model agency IMG Models Worldwide and has already graced the cover of Vogue and Chinese Elle. Gu has been invited to the Met Gala and Paris Fashion Week and has her hands full with many new interesting projects in the pipeline.
She also has a strong presence on Instagram with over 215k followers.
(Main and featured image credit: Eileen Gu/ @eileen_gu_/ Instagram)
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These Seven Events Will Debut at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
Seven new events designed to increase women’s participation and diversity have been introduced at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which will be held from 4 to 20 February 2022.
The events include four mixed teams, an exclusively women’s event, and two separate events for men and women.
Some of these new events are an extension of the existing disciplines, while others are thoughtfully introduced to make the spirit of the Olympics truly universal.
What is also noteworthy is that at least one — ski jumping — did not even have a women’s event for 90 years since making its debut in the early part of the 20th century. It now gets a mixed team event just eight years after the women made their debut, which, to some degree, underlines the long strides being made for diversity and inclusion in the world today.
Here are the seven events making a debut at the Winter Olympics
Ski jumping mixed team event
One of the oldest events in the Winter Olympics, ski jumping has been a permanent fixture since first introduced in 1924. However, it did not have a women’s event till the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia.
Eight years later, the ski jumping mixed team event is set to appear for the first time at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Rules are similar to that of the men’s large hill team competition except that the mixed event will be held on a smaller normal hill.
Twelve countries are participating in this event. Each team will have four members — two men and two women. Two rounds will be held and the team with the highest combined total, after eight jumps, will be the winner.
The event will be held at the Kuyangshu Ski Jumping Field in Zhangjiakou.
Short-track speed skating mixed relay
The mixed relay of the short-track speed skating is a relatively new event on the international stage, having made its debut in the 2018-19 World Cup season.
Similar to the ski jumping mixed team event, the short-track speed skating mixed relay will have 12 teams, with four members comprising two men and two women. A total distance of 2,000 metres divided into 18 laps will be covered by each team, with each skater appearing twice in the relay.
Instead of passing batons, each member will tag the other to progress. The event will be held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing.
Men’s and women’s freestyle skiing big air
The freestyle skiing big air will feature two events, one for men and the other for women. Winning is all about performing the most astounding of tricks in mid-air.
Points are awarded based on what is popularly known as ‘DEAL’ — difficulty, execution, amplitude and landing. Freestyle is intensely artistic and tough at the same time, as participants also have to land perfectly after executing an impressive trick.
In other tournaments, this event is the one that has younger participants taking the prize. Its counterpart, snowboarding, which made its debut in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, was a tremendous success.
Freestyle skiing mixed team aerials
This event is unique because it features three competitors in each team. While each team must have at least one male member and one female member, teams are free to pick the third member from either gender.
Rules are simple — points are awarded to each of the three members in a team based on the technique of jump, tricks and landing. The team awarded the highest points wins.
Interestingly, aerials is a sport in which China has a decisive edge over others.
Snowboard cross mixed team event
As a sport, snowboarding made its debut in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin after enjoying over a decade of popularity since appearing in a TV show in 1991. It has been part of famous video games by EA Sports and SEGA. Yet, the mixed team event of the sport is making its debut at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Each team in the mixed event will have one man and one woman. It follows almost similar rules like the men’s and women’s events of the sport. Thus, there will be four competitors — one from each team — racing next to each other on a course almost 1 km long, with several turns and jumps.
The men’s group will race first. The women’s group follows once the men’s race is over. In the mixed event, the women members of the team will start in a staggered format as per the finish times of the men.
Four countries — the US, Italy, Canada and France — have fielded two pairs each, while eight other countries will be represented by one pair each.
Women’s monobob
The monobob is a women’s-only event making its debut in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. It is set to level the number of Olympic bobsleigh events between men and women. The men participate in four-man and two-man events, while women had, till now, only the two-woman competition.
The monobob is a simple sled, identical in design for each of the participating teams. In monobob, athletes have to push the sled, perform dives and break on their own. In the larger group events, the roles are divided.
Women’s participation in Olympic bobsleigh has been going on since the 2002 edition in Salt Lake City. The monobob was an event in the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lillehammer in 2016 and Lausanne in 2020.
The women’s monobob event at the 2022 Games will be held at Yanqing Sliding Centre.
(Main and Featured images: Christof Stache/AFP)
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