A visitor takes a selfie on July 4, 2024 during the launch and exhibition of Indonesia’s official jersey for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games created by designer Didit Hediprasetyo, the only son of president-elect Prabowo Subianto, at The Dharmawangsa Jakarta in South Jakarta. — Photos The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA – With the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games just around the corner, the world’s largest premiere multisport event is not just about competition at the courts, fields, tracks, pools and other venues: It is also a design contest for the most captivating uniforms among participating countries.

For some of the country’s sports fans, the official uniforms of the Indonesian Olympic team is already leading the competition, thanks to their “elegant” and “minimalist” design.

On July 4, the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) launched its official collection of uniforms for the country’s Paris Games contingent, consisting of jerseys, shorts, pants and jackets designed in a red, white and black color scheme.

Each uniform is emblazoned with a patch on the left breast featuring the Garuda Pancasila national emblem, the Olympic rings and text reading “Tim Indonesia” (Team Indonesia), enclosed in a ring of red and white, the national colors.

On the right breast is the logo of Li Ning Company Limited, the Chinese athletic apparel and footwear firm that has been sponsoring the Indonesian contingent since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Aside from the competition uniforms, the collection also has a special set of uniforms to be worn during medal ceremonies.

Presiding over the departure ceremony for the Indonesian contingent on Wednesday at Merdeka Palace, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo conveyed his hope that the athletes would “be optimistic and compete enthusiastically” to bring home medals and make Indonesia proud.

The uniforms’ launch was a feast for the eyes for people like Ina Yosia, a the 23-year-old graphic designer from Yogyakarta, who sees the quadrennial sporting event as an occasion for supporting Indonesian athletes as well as for viewing the diverse designs of participating countries.

“The [official uniform] design this year feels much more modern, with minimalist graphics and simple black,” Ina told The Jakarta Post on Friday, and that she already liked what she had seen.

“I prefer this year’s outfits compared to the last Olympics in Tokyo, which looked like the gymnastics uniforms from the 1990s to me,” she added with a chuckle.

Ina also said she hoped to see that the opening ceremony uniforms incorporated more traditional elements, so audiences around the world would recognize Indonesian athletes at a single glance.

But for Nuning Triana, an office worker and badminton enthusiast from Mojokerto, East Java, the Indonesian contingent would be instantly recognizable because the red and white national colors and the Garuda Pancasila featured prominently in this year’s design.

“The design not only looks minimalist and elegant, but truly represents an Indonesian icon,” she said.

“I’m so proud, and hope that the uniform can boost athletes’ spirit when they are competing.”

Anindya Bakrie (left), Indonesia’s chef de mission for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and swimmer Joe Aditya strike a pose in two versions of the country’s official jersey during exhibition on July 4, 2024 at The Dharmawangsa Jakarta in South Jakarta.

Indonesia’s 2024 Olympics uniforms were designed by Ragowo “Didit” Hediprasetyo Djojohadikusumo, the only son of Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto.

This was not the first time designing sports uniforms for Didit, who also designed the jerseys for Italian soccer team Como 1907, which is owned by businessmen Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono of Djarum Group.

According to Ditit, the design of Indonesia’s Paris Olympics uniforms was inspired by the “Berkibarlah Benderaku” (Fly My Flag), a national song composed by Saridjah Niung Bintang Soedibjo, popularly known as “Ibu Soed”.

“Hopefully, [the athletes] will always strive for and gain achievements as well as make Indonesia proud [in these uniforms],” the designer said during the launch event, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Indonesia’s chef de mission Anindya Novyan Bakrie said the KOI decided to collaborate on the official uniforms with Didit, as he had made his mark as a designer in Paris, the host city of the 2024 Summer Games.

Graduating from art and design school Parsons Paris in 2007, Didit rose to prominence following his debut show at the Spring/Summer 2010 Paris Couture Fashion Week, and has since regularly presented his couture collections during Paris Fashion Week.

Other countries have also collaborated with renowned designers on their Olympic uniforms: Italy joined hands with Italian luxury fashion house Armani’s sportswear line EA7, and host country France partnered with local luxury brand Berluti.

While many countries have been complimented on their Olympic uniforms, Malaysia’s official apparel was immediately slammed by netizens, who criticized the design as “cheap” and “ugly”, The Star reported.

The criticism prompted the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to rework the design immediately. The new design was launched on July 2, with OCM president Mohamad Norza Zakaria calling it “fiercer-looking” for featuring more prominent tiger stripes. ASIA NEWS NET WORK/VNS