SWEATER chatter
‘That’s the great thing: everyone’s passionate’
Team Canada’s new look has some thinking gold, others thinking fill’er up.
TORON TO • Ken Black, or at least his ideas about designing a Canadian hockey jersey, had been savaged in corners of the Internet for more than an hour before he found himself on an impromptu press tour on Tuesday morning.
As creative director for Nike, for the Olympics, Black was one of the minds behind a trio of jerseys unveiled in an elaborate ceremony in Toronto, complete with techno music and mood lighting. Criticism of that work — a red jersey, a white jersey and a black jersey — ranged from simple matters of taste to questions of inspiration, including whether placing a white maple leaf on a red background was modeled after a ubiquitous gas station logo.
“That is not even close to any of the inspiration that we took as we designed it,” Black said with a laugh. “Petro-Canada is not part of any of our design research.”
Olympic rules prohibit the men’s, women’s and Paralympic teams from wearing anything bearing the logo of their national sports federation, Hockey Canada. Redesigning the logo was a process that required “an immense number of drafts” and a “couple of years” to get through, Black said, moments before a handler whisked him away to another interview.
“There’s always a reaction any time that we pick a team,” Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said. “That’s the great thing about the game of hockey: everyone’s passionate.”
Those feelings were stoked a month before the official unveiling. A photograph showing a bemused-looking Jonathan Toews in the red jersey found its way online in september, followed shortly thereafter by a photograph showing all three jerseys — a leak reportedly caused by one overzealous retailer in Vancouver, who had put them on display too early.
Canada is expected to be the only country carrying three hockey jerseys in its equipment bags at the Winter Olympics in sochi. Nicholson said the proceeds from the sale of those jerseys would be split between Hockey Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Practically speaking, a release from Nike claims the jerseys are made from 73% recycled polyester, and up to 17 recycled plastic water bottles. The socks, according to the release, contain around five recycled plastic bottles. (The bottles are broken down and reduced to flakes, then melted down to form something that can be turned into the fabric.) The jerseys are lighter than the ones Canada wore en route to gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver three years ago. And according to Nike: “Ventilation zones under the arms on both sides provide additional comfort and cooling.”
It is the aesthetics, though, that have generated the most discussion.
The logos on the red and white jerseys have a straightforward maple leaf with “Canada” written underneath. The black jersey, the alternate, has “Canada” written in large letters across the chest. Beyond the emblem — and there is a striking similarity with the gas station logo — is the question of the faux laces at the bottom of the collar. They became a talking point when the united states released its hockey jerseys in August. (Nike designed those, too: “That was our intent, to create a lighter-weight, betterperforming jersey,” Black said.)
Canada’s jerseys were unveiled in what might stand as a testament to the country’s status as a greenhouse for hockey fanaticism.
They had dimmed the houselights inside Mattamy Athletic Centre, the refurbished Maple Leaf Gardens, and invited minor hockey players to skate around the ice to model the new jerseys. Dignitaries from various levels of the sport spoke for almost an hour. Dozens of reporters snapped photos, scribbled notes and filmed the scene on iPhones and television cameras.
“You’re going to have people who are going to be divided on this, but that’s the way it is,” former Canadian Olympic forward Joe Nieuwendyk said with a smile. “I also know that, come Olympic time … on the streets of Canada, everybody’s going to have them on, too.”