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Australia's new
Winter Olympic uniforms
And there is no doubt
we will be taking off
the top fashion honors
with this stunning gear
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IT'S WINTER Olympics time in
Innsbruck and the youngsters in
the Australian team are currently
! in the thick of the gruelling
i competition for the coveted
Olympic gold on the Austrian
ski-slopes.
But however they finally line up in the
sporting results, there's no doubt they'll be
taking off top fashion honors. The team
has been outfitted in stunning space-age
uniforms designed by top Australian
fashion designers Prue Acton and her
husband Mike Treloar.
The young skiers and skaters make up
the largest team Australia has ever fielded
at a Winter Olympics. "They are young,
but highly competent," said Mr Judy
Patching, secretary-general of the
Australian Olympic Federation. And
according to Mr Patching, the organisers
were determined the young team "wasn't
going to wear just any old thing." They
wanted specially designed uniforms that
would help sell Australia - a country
classified overseas as non-alpine, and
much more closely identified with sun and
surf than snow.
And the results, far from "any old
thing," turned out to be startlingly new and
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Prue Acton and Mike Treloar (above)
designed the uniforms for the team.
Skater Sharon Burley, 18, in the
warm-up suit (left) and the striking
walk-out overalls and jacket (right).
1 Pictures by Don McPhedran. I
different, calculated to look dramatic
against the snow and to look outstanding
on the color television that is beaming the
events throughout the world.
There are eye-catching warm-up suits,
sleek racing gear, gaily striped sweaters,
scarves and hats, tuck-in pants, lace-up
boots - in bold black and brilliant yellow
with touches of vibrant green.
The most striking of the outfits is
probably the walk-out suit - with a
futuristic look that is even stronger when
the outfit is teamed with the skier's helmet
striped to match. It has patches of big bold
The Australian Olympic Federa-
tion's Olympic Fund is aimed at raising
the $800,000 needed to finance the
participation of Australia's team at the
Winter and Summer Olympics.
Colorful AO F T-shirts, with fun
cartoons of Australian animals repre-
senting various Olympic sports (plus
the important Olympic supporter sym-
bol) are available for $4.50 from Olympic
T-shirt Project, Box 4615, GPO, Sydney.
Donations to the Appeal should be
addressed to Australian Olympic Team
Appeal, GPO Box 5267BB, Melbourne,
Victoria 3001.
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black and white stripes, set horizontally and
vertically, with panels of yellow. The
Australian emblem of Olympic circles and
a kangaroo are placed on the back and
front of the jacket and on the arm and
leg.
Underneath the jacket is a snappy
bib-and-brace overall in matching stripes,
which can be worn with a black shirt or
yellow polo-neck sweater.
The shirt and sweater can also be
worn with black corduroy pants tucked
into black lace-up boots and topped with
a yellow duffle coat.
Prue and Mike are keen skiers
themselves. They know the sport from a
practical point of view and have always
kept a sharp eye on fashion on the slopes,
both here and in European resorts.
The new-look fashions are a far cry
from those previously worn by Australian
Winter Olympians.
One who remembers those days is Mrs
Pat Burley, mother of 18-year-old Sharon
Burley, Australia's only girl skater at the
Winter Games this year.
Mrs Burley, then Nancy Hallam,
represented Australia as a skater in the
Oslo Games in 1952. Her official skating
uniform was one of her own design -
white with sprigs of wattle. d
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