Team GB's Olympic kit flies the union flag

The absence of the colour from McCartney’s interpretation of the Union flag drew significant comment at the kit unveiling at the Tower of London, with the designer saying she had tried to reinterpret the flag. Red features as trimming on many of the 590 individual articles of kit that have been created for Team GB by Adidas, and some socks and shoes are all-red, but the predominate colours are several shades of blue and white. The red in the Union flag represents the cross of St George, for England, and the cross of St Patrick, for Ireland, and its absence drew a mixed response on social networking sites. Among those unimpressed was double Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins, who tweeted: “Oh dear — the Olympic kit” shortly after its launch. Wiggins, who was sponsored by Adidas until last year, later deleted the comment. McCartney, retained as Adidas creative director, said she had tried to give the flag a contemporary twist. “The first place to start on a project like this is to look at the Union flag. For me it is one of the most beautiful flags in the world and it is important for me to stay true to that iconic design but also to modernise it and present it in a contemporary way,” she said. “Ultimately, we wanted the athletes to feel like a team and to be proud with the identity we created.” Among Adidas athletes attending the launch however there was enthusiastic support for the kit, which has been two years in development and has featured input from potential medal hopes, including Phillips Idowu..