McCartney flying flag for British fashion at Olympics

And Britain’s Olympic entrants will be doing it in the style of top designer Stella McCartney.

Sheffield’s heptathlete Jessica Ennis was among the athletes who were modelling the exclusively-designed range for the British team, which has been over two years in the making.

McCartney said she had taken the colours of the Union flag as a starting point, breaking it down and displaying it differently on the varying items of kit.

But all of them raised the same question after being unveiled yesterday – why so little red with the white and blue?

Three-time Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins was among those who was lukewarm about the designs, tweeting: “Oh dear, the Olympic kit!!”

Paul McCartney’s 40-year-old daughter has been working with Adidas since 2004 and was appointed creative director for the Team GB range.

She said: “The first place to start on a project like this is to look at the Union flag.

“For me it’s one of the most beautiful flags in the world and it was important to stay true to that iconic design but also to modernise it and present it in a contemporary way.

“I’ve worked a lot with the Olympians and Paralympians and they said ‘If I feel that I look good it will enhance the way I perform’. I hope I have managed to do Great Britain proud.”

Other starry line-ups are competing for the unofficial medals fashion commentators will bestow on national teams.

Jamaica has had Cedella Marley, daughter of reggae legend Bob Marley, working with Puma on uniforms for a team including bill-topping sprinter Usain Bolt.

She has given notice: “It’ll be Grace Jones meets my dad – very music-inspired.”