Form or Function?

The Olympics Has Shown Us It's Always Both

Hi CLOTHO Fam! Have you been watching the Winter Olympics? The intensity, the emotion…the drama of a scandal in curling of all things?!?! It’s been riveting, and of course, not without some incredible feats of fashion along with incredible feats of athleticism.

The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games must feel like the pinnacle of pride for an athlete. Getting to parade your nation’s flag in front of the entire world like that…I can’t imagine the overwhelming sense of awe. And, over the past few decades, the Opening Ceremony has become about more than just showcasing national pride through waving and cheering. It’s become its own illustrious runway, where nations showcase national pride through highly detailed and culturally significant outfits as well.

While Mongolia and Haiti’s Opening Ceremony looks lit social media on fire, for me, it was Brazil’s that made the biggest impression. 2026 marked Brazil’s largest contingent to date for the Winter Olympics with 14 athletes. (To put it into perspective, the USA had 232.) However, this small yet mighty group has already accomplished huge things, like securing the very first gold medal for any South American country in the Winter Olympics when Lucan Pinheiro Braathen took the top spot for giant slalom. When he stood on that podium and we heard Brazil’s national anthem for the very first time at any Winter Olympics medal ceremony, he cried, I cried, we all cried. So, with such a historical run, it’s only fitting that this delegation has been dressed by one of the most uniquely-storied fashion houses in the world.