PARIS – It may be too early to call these Paris Olympics the Olympics of Fashion. But, in a city that is considered the capital of fashion, the word “fashion” has certainly been mentioned so far more than at any other Games.
So it made sense to Angela Ruggiero, four-time US Olympic medalist in ice hockey, that if she was going to start a celebration of gender equality at these Games, it should be with a fashion show. And that’s how some 20 or so former and former Olympians ended up walking down the runway on Sunday at a Paris restaurant, to high and lows from supportive audience.
For years, says Ruggiero, who runs a market research firm that focuses on the intersection of sports and design, he has been following “this trend of sports and fashion colliding.”
“And the Olympics are in Paris. I mean, what a great place to celebrate the great achievements of gender equality on the field while also embracing opportunities off the field, including raising these women’s voices in style,” she told The Associated Press.
This year, the International Olympic Committee has set a goal of a 50-50 split between male and female athletes. For the first time, women have an equal share of men’s entries of 10,500 athletes in 329 events.
The actual gender split will not be known until the end of the Games, given the unknowns in team selection, national rules and other areas. It is possible that the numbers will be less. But regardless of where the exact numbers fall, the female athletes who joined Ruggiero on the runway – mostly from the United States, but also from Australia, New Zealand, Liberia, Qatar and elsewhere – they were eager to celebrate the occasion.
Also, pushing for future development in other areas of the game such as high level decision making.
New Zealand BMX athlete Sarah Walker wears a creation by 4TheWalk and Aspics shoes, during the first gender equality fashion show of the Olympic Games, 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Sunday, July 28, 2024. To celebrate gender equality at the Olympics, PARITY Paris hosted a runway show in partnership with Coca-Cola House. Credit: AP/Michel Euler
“We have to keep the momentum going,” said Kerri Walsh Jennings, the U.S. beach volleyball player who won three gold medals and a bronze medal. “And we need to expand it, because it can’t be all at once. It can’t be once in four years, on a special occasion like this. We need it 365, 24-7, because women are 50% of the population.
The runway show, called PARITY Paris, was hosted by clothing and accessories brand 4TheWalk at a restaurant near Paris’ famous Palais Garnier opera house, in partnership with Coca-Cola. The models, many of whom had never walked the runway before, wore the host’s looks and other styles such as Sneex shoes.
A few said they were nervous before, among them Sarah Walker, a New Zealand BMX racer who is six months pregnant with her second child – and she had a baby bump his on the road.
“I felt really nervous – but that was a sign that maybe I should do it,” Walker said later. “So especially with a 2-year-old daughter and another baby girl on the way, I was like, this is really important to do for women in the future. Setting an example that women can do what ever. “
Former British soccer player Eniola Aluko wears a Keta Gutmane creation and Sneex shoes during the first gender-equal fashion show for the Olympic Games, 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Sunday, July 28 , 2024. To celebrate gender equality at the Olympics, PARITY Paris hosted a runway show in partnership with Coca-Cola House. Credit: AP/Michel Euler
Natalie Cook, the Australian beach volleyball player who has competed in five Olympics, had a lot of fun, doing a cute pose as she approached the photographers.
“It’s the first time,” he said of his entertainment experience. And I don’t think I’ll give up my athletic career.
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