The 2018 Winter Olympics are set to get underway on February 9 in PyeonChang, South Korea, where the world’s top winter athletes will gather to compete in 15 different sports, including hockey, figure skating, and downhill skiing. To help America’s snowboarding team look good both on and off the slopes, Burton Snowboards has designed a uniform that is already turning heads, even though it is still three months before the games actually begin.
Last week, the designers at Burton took the wraps off the official uniform that the snowboarding team will wear while competing in South Korea. Consisting of a matching jacket and pants, Burton’s apparel has a look that is both futuristic and retro at the same time. Using an exclusive fabric designed to resemble liquid metal, the two pieces of clothing have an iridescent silver glow to them, reflecting and deflecting light in a unique fashion.
But the uniform has a lot more going for it than just a flashy silver color. Both the jacket and pants are also coated with a lightweight aluminum material that is commonly used in the production of audio equipment. That material gives the uniform its waterproof properties while allowing it to remain extremely lightweight at the same time.
Other items in the Burton snowboarding collection include a down-insulated jacket and a down one-piece, both of which are made from fabrics that consist of Dyneema, the world’s strongest fiber. These pure-white pieces are also extremely lightweight and waterproof, but are warm and breathable, too. This will help to keep snowboarders comfortable in a host of weather conditions both on and off the slopes.
When designing the uniform, Burton took inspiration from the spacesuits worn by American astronauts at the dawn of the Space Age. The cut and color of the clothing resembles something that Neil Armstrong might have worn on his famous first walk on the surface of the moon, right down to the patriotic patches sewn on the front of the jacket. The inside of the jacket even has detailed artwork on the lining and includes Korean translations of phrases like “Do you speak English?” and “Wish me luck!”
In a press release announcing the new uniforms, Burton’s Head Designer of the Olympic Program Greg Dacyshyn said, “I have always loved the astronauts’ suits, because not only do they have such a cool and amazing aesthetic, they also were designed to function under the most extreme conditions, so this gave us an incredible platform to push the innovation and technology of the garments as well. My hope is that these pieces help the athletes go where no rider has gone before.”
We’ll find out for sure when the competition begins in February.
