August 7, 2016

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen’s glittery strut at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics is being hailed as a fashion highlight of the Games. But her donning of that flashy, deep V-neck gown wasn’t the only fashion moment of the XXXI Olympiad so far.

Numerous media outlets have published their “best of” lists ranking the Parade of Nations outfits.

“When you’re trying to stand out among 200+ countries, you can’t be drab. (Looking at you, Germany.) You can’t do the expected or go with boring colors and designs. You need to pay homage to your country while also looking stylish and keeping athletes’ comfort in mind,” reads the introduction to the USA Today list.

While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, USA Today surprised many in Israel in ranking the Israeli uniforms No. 2 on its list of “17 best Parade of Nations outfits.” In effect, Israel won fashion gold from an American media outlet – its first of the Summer Games.

The American paper wrote: “That’s how you do athletic jackets with style,” in reference to the Israeli fashion retail chain Castro’s use of blue and white shades of the national flag.

This was Castro’s sixth consecutive Olympic season designing the look for Israel’s official delegation.

But at home, the uniform has been likened to that of airline attire. Some critics have said that the Olympic team looks like El Al flight attendants as opposed to sporty athletes.

Now, fans and athletes of the Israeli team need to concentrate on bringing home a real podium finish. And not just a fashion finish.