Team GB to wear Stella McCartney at Olympics

Sports giant Adidas is banking on the Team GB uniform designed by Stella McCartney being snapped up as the must-have item of the London 2012 Games.

Executives hope the kit will create the same clamour as a collectible triggered by the red mittens for the Vancouver 2010 winter Games.

The 2012 Games will also be the stage of a fashion showdown in the lucrative and hotly contested sport clothing market between the daughters of two of the world’s greatest music legends.

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McCartney, daughter of rock royalty Sir Paul McCartney, is creative director of the Adidas Team GB ranges, overseeing the design of both athlete kit and fan wear for the brand.

She will have home advantage in the popularity stakes as Team GB, still riding high on the success of Beijing 2008, sends out its biggest team.

Her designs will vie for popularity against the work of Cedella Marley, daughter of reggae royalty Bob Marley.

The singer, author and fashion designer was picked by Puma, the Jamaican team’s sponsor, to create the clothes the athletes will wear on the track, on the podium and in the ceremonies.

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Barring injury or a catastrophic loss of form her work will be showcased on the back of showboating sprint king Usain Bolt – a good bet to be one of the faces of the 2012 Games.

Jamaica is set to be a force to be reckoned with in both the men’s and women’s sprint races at London’s 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium.

Herbert Hainer, Adidas chief executive, said: “I do believe that, right or wrong, the main item will be the uniform of Team GB which is designed by Stella McCartney.

“First and foremost, it is spectacular in my opinion. Never before has such a high-profile designer done this.

“I think it will definitely make a difference.

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“I have seen the prototypes already and I think what she is designing is truly phenomenal.”

The sports firm has a target of £100m in merchandise from the 2012 Games and is investing £100m into the event.

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