LONDON — There was no mystery as to which team Varun Pemmaraju was supporting: His American flag was tied around his neck, the Stars and Stripes floating like a cape behind him.
“I was going for the Superman, Captain
America-look,” said the beaming 19-year-old computer science and
chemical engineering student from San Jose, California, as he stood a
stone’s throw from Olympic Stadium. “I thought America was a little
under-represented.”
Patriotism and the Olympic games have long gone together, but gone are the days when one just waved a flag. Now flags are worn.
The
fashion flags can be found at Olympic Park and around London as shift
dresses and smocks, pants and shorts, hats and shoes, even dangly
earrings and bracelets. There’s apparently no garment — nor nail polish —
that can’t be fashioned into something akin to a national banner.
Although
the sponsorship police at the International Olympic Committee can stop
merchants from using the five Olympic rings, there’s no trademark police
on flags.
Besides, capitalizing on a good fashion idea is not
new. In recent years, “fast fashion” has transformed the retail
industry, as mainstream companies seize the hottest ideas from the
catwalk, copy them as quickly as possible and move them onto the shop
floors. Some manufacturers have gotten so fast they can produce wearable
creations from factory to store in the same season in which they were
created by top designers at Chanel, Ralph Lauren or Dior.
None of these flag fashions are going to give Burberry a run for their money — they are not made to last.
Jayne
Ody got her raincoat, which was covered in Union Jacks, from Primark, a
British store that specializes in cheap, cheerful fashion. And it was a
bargain, at 8 pounds ($13).
Her friend Ann Wanklyn was wearing
two Welsh flags — emblazoned with a dragon — that had been sewn together
into a simple shift dress. But Wanklyn is not about to claim she’s a
fashion princess — Olympic Park is a sporty crowd.
“You won’t see anyone here walking around in heels, I can tell you that,” Wanklyn said.
Turns
out those flags can be handy in this unpredictable British weather.
Someone seems to have a concession of selling a plastic variety that
doubles as a raincoat. The British flag, as one might expect, seems to
be very popular, but so is the tricolor of France and the
triangle-cornered ones of the Czech Republic.
And then there are
the Dutch. Who needs a flag when your nation is basically a color —
blinding orange? There are orange jackets, overalls, shoes but you
almost never see the Dutch flag itself.
The orange also comes in
the form of tiny hats — a bargain at 1 pound ($1.56) each — as worn by
three Wagenaar sisters. Sabine Wagenaar, 24, simply laughed when asked
about her fashion choice.
“It’s a nice little hat,” she said giggling. “It’s girlie.”
Then
there are those just trying to buck their athletes up. Hugh Barton, 11,
from Brisbane, Australia, was sad that the Aussie swimmers weren’t at
their best this year. He wore a flag around his neck and held one in his
hand for maximum patriotism.
“Australia needs moral support,” he said.
Before
the games, American athletes were briefed on how to hold the flag
should they be lucky enough to win. The U.S. Olympic Committee pointed
out a picture of swimmer Missy Franklin displaying the flag properly
after winning gold — right hand on stars, left hand on stripes.
Wearing the flag, well, that’s for spectators. Still, people like Pemmaraju are wearing it well.
“It’s
a way of celebrating all the things that your country is about,” the
University of California student said. “I know America is not a perfect
country … but it’s got me where I am. I’m proud to be an American.”
