Perhaps inhibited by the freezing temperatures, most national team uniforms featured thick windproof down coats and bulky headgear when the athletes entered Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium for Friday night’s Winter Olympics opening ceremony. There were plenty of dark, neutral tones and colour blocks in line with delegations’ flags – which was fair enough, given the athletes are representing their homelands at Beijing 2022. However, some delegations stood out with vibrant patterns or unique shapes that caught the eye. The Ukrainian delegation dazzled with geometric patterns of yellow and blue, styled after their national colours. The Czech Republic delegation, meanwhile, had triangular and rectangular motifs layered on their coats. The Australian delegation later emerged in dark and light green camouflage colours, with yellow beanie hats. Fashion clearly has no boundaries. Italy entered the stadium in ponchos of green, white, and red – matching the colours of their national flag. The design is part of Emporio Armani’s EA7 sportswear range. Indeed, many countries at the Games chose to outfit their athletes in uniforms made by representative national brands. However, some countries turned to international apparel powerhouses instead. ‘Unbearably ugly’ uniforms for Winter Games medal ceremonies mocked online Team Sweden’s uniform was made by Japanese retailer Uniqlo, while the Netherlands and Hong Kong were decked out in Italian-Korean brand Fila. South Korea chose American brand The North Face for their opening and closing ceremonies uniforms. Still, there was plenty of traditional attire seen on the global stage. Some countries opted to pay tribute to their heritage, rather than deck themselves out in global sports brands. American Samoa’s flag bearer, Nathan Crumpton, braved the cold and went topless with some traditional clothing for the opening ceremony. Crumpton is the sole competitor for American Samoa. New Zealand and Mongolia also chose to go the same route – though their athletes will have been a little warmer than Crumpton. The Mexican delegation had the calavera – otherwise known as the sugar skull – emblazoned on their coat. The symbol is used in celebrations for the Day of the Dead in Mexico. There are of course no medals for best dressed at the Winter Olympics, but regardless, we were still treated so some spectacular showcases of style.