How do you create a uniform and outfit athletes in a sport like snowboarding that prides itself on individuality? You hand the reigns to the largest company in that world: Burton. For the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the U.S. Snowboarding Team will don uniforms made by the Vermont-based company, who in turn tapped Olympic hopefuls like Mason Aguirre, Kevin Pearce and Louie Vito for feedback.
With a classy red, white and blue flannel pattern, the jacket is equal parts Seattle dive bar circa ’92 and Tommy Hilfiger sailing gear. And if the top is grunge-meets-yacht-rock, the bottom is dirty Jersey. If The Boss snowboarded, he’d definitely rock those faux-distressed jeans.
Regardless of your view on this style, it’s a huge step up from the pinstriped garments from the last Winter Olympics, which conjured the Yankees home uniforms. Anyway, by the time you see these uniforms in action, which are made from GORE–TEX-based materials, they’ll just be a blur — Shaun White, an Olympic highly-likely, is already completing runs with three, double-flips! Some bling in the form of a Gold Medal is dang likely. And if there’s one thing that Springsteen and Burton can agree on it’s that a gold medal (or Grammy) makes any outfit look great.
—Stephen Krcmar
