New York, NY – April 16, 2024 – Today, The North Face has unveiled the official sport climbing competition uniforms to be worn by athletes from the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Austria in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Peak performance meets visual storytelling in the design of these uniforms. Each piece was meticulously constructed, pattern making was analyzed with 3D soft-wear, and garments were fit on climbing walls using athletes to achieve premium sport climb competition standards. Throughout the testing and development process, The North Face also worked closely with athletes including Nathaniel Coleman, Melina Costanza, and Nina Williams to ensure the design and construction of the product exceeded expectations.
Visually, The North Face drew inspiration from iconic mountains in each region in designing each uniform – Mount Denali in the U.S., Mount Grossglockner in Austria, Mt. Fuji in Japan and the Hallasan Volcano in South Korea. These mountains are the highest peak in each region, signifying athletes reaching the “highest peak” in their sport.
The uniforms are also marked by an external taping construction that challenges tradition without sacrificing performance. By shifting traditionally internal construction methods to the exterior of the garment, The North Face has created a distraction free, next-to-skin product that simultaneously highlights iconic North Face Climb DNA.
Sport climbing made its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, making this year only the second time the sport has appeared at the Games. As noted on the official Olympics website, sport climbing is a modern sport that has become immensely popular over the past 20 years. There are over 25 million climbers in 150 countries all over the world, and 39% of climbers under 18 years old.
The North Face was founded in 1966 as a climbing store and since then, has maintained its position at the center of the climbing community. Through its support of climbers of all levels – from the pinnacle of competition on the Olympic stage to introducing and inspiring newcomers to the sport – The North Face is the timeless leader within the world of climbing.
In addition to the uniforms designed for The U.S., Japan, South Korea and Austria, The North Face also designed a sport climbing competition kit for France. While French athletes will be wearing different uniforms to fulfill conflicting sponsorship obligations, versions of both the French and United States competition kit will be available for consumers to purchase on July 1st, 2024. The available pieces will include men’s and women’s competition shorts, t-shirts and tank tops, with prices ranging from $80-$145.
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
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CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
