Who's the menswear winner of summer 2024? Brad Pitt in baby yellow Burberry? A$AP Rocky in a Bottega Veneta shirt and tie? Pierce Brosnan in that Ralph Lauren suit at Wimbledon? Or is it, in fact, the models wearing the new uniform for Team Mongolia for the 2024 Olympics based in Paris, which were revealed earlier this month? Sharp, detailed and low-key wavy, with embroidered collars and boxy vests, the uniforms – which are to be worn by athletes during this summer's opening ceremony – have managed to win over the toughest of online crowds: Fashion Twitter.
The uniforms were designed by fashion label Michel & Amazonka, led by two sisters, who are no stranger to big set pieces. The pair have also designed uniforms for Mongolian Airlines (which similarly toe the line between flashy and neutral) as well as the official attire for Team Mongolia at both the 2020 and 2022 Olympics. But this is the first time they've put together something that's generated such a universal response. “We are still in a state of shock,” says director and general manager Batbaatar Munkhbaya, speaking over Zoom from the Michel & Amazonka workshop based in Ulaanbaatar. Beside her is Amazonka Chougala, one of the designer duo, for whom she translates. Behind both of them is a rail stacked full of fresh uniforms, the golden threadwork glinting in the sun.
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Here's what Munkhbaya had to say on the uniform's viral impact, how they blended modernism with Mongolian tradition and how long each uniform took to make (*whispers*: 20 hours).
GQ: How was it decided that you’d be designing this year’s uniform for Mongolia?
Batbaatar Munkhbaya: Initially, we were not selected to design. But suddenly, in February, the Mongolian National Olympic Committee said that the previous company that they’d selected had cancelled the deal. They contacted us because we’d made [uniforms] for the previous two Olympics – in Tokyo and Beijing. We only had three months to complete this uniform.
Wow, that’s a quick turnaround. Can you tell me about where the initial inspiration came from?
So, our inspiration is from the Naadam [Mongolian Naadam Festival] – Naadam is like our Olympics. It’s a big festival that happens in Mongolia in July where people dress up for the opening ceremony. You can see similar designs everywhere in Mongolia. It’s very colourful, and the one that we made for the Olympics is more toned down. It’s a little bit fancier with the embroidery. But it’s traditional clothing.
Why did you decide to go for a more neutral colour palette?
Well, we like going to Paris. It’s the capital of fashion. And we considered the hotter weather there, so we chose light colours, like white and grey – those are our favourite colours. Darker colours wouldn’t suit the hot summer of Paris. One of the inspirations was the Paris 2024 Olympics torch – it’s very neutral, with gold and silver. So that also gave us inspiration.
The gold is so beautiful. And the embroidery includes fish, mountains and images of nature. Can you tell me a bit about the design on the vests?
Can I bring the vest over? [carries a vest over and shows it to the camera]. I don’t know if you can see the embroidery but this [motions to the top half of the vest] is called the ‘Nine White Banner’. When Naadam begins, this banner comes to the stadium. So this is the symbol of beginning. And then we have the logo of the Olympics. And we have these mountains [gestures to the lower half]. Mountaineers climb up to Everest and become the best, so these mountains represent hard work and perseverance. It's embroidered in golden thread because we wish that our [uniform] brings gold medals.
I read that the silhouettes were inspired by Mongolian deels [a centuries-old item of traditional clothing]. Can you tell me about that?
The flag bearers – men and women – both of them wear deels, and on top of it they wear vests. Those these clothes are our traditional clothes that wear during our celebrations and competitions.
The uniform includes lots of accessories: pouch bags, sash belts, dangling earrings, pointed buryat hats, and gutal boots. Why was it important to include those accessories?
One of the requirements that the Mongolian National Olympic Committee gave us was that we should consider the whole look. It should include hats, comfortable shoes, earrings and accessories that would compliment the look. And bags for ladies. Because ladies like to carry their stuff; cellphones, anything. So the purse is an inseparable part of the outfit.
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How long did each uniform take to complete and what did the process entail? They're each so detailed.
So, the first stage is the preparation, which is when we source our fabric and gather the accessorial elements, and also prepare the embroidery. Once they are all collected, we go to the sewing stage, which took about 20 hours per uniform. In total, we made 120 sets of uniforms, 70 for men and 50 for women. That includes both regular Olympics and Paralympics. We needed to project manage it efficiently for 3 months.
Everyone seems to love these uniforms. They've generated a lot of attention for how stylish and chic they look. What do you make of the reaction?
We are still in a state of shock. It's something that's never happened. Just thinking about how people have reached out to us on Facebook and Instagram and expressed their positive thoughts… that's crazy. The amount of people who are responding to [these uniforms] is phenomenal for us.
