By John Poulin
Wed, Dec 4 2013 10:13 am | Comments
Wed, Dec 4 2013 10:13 am | Comments
burton_unveils_sochi_unitards
Burton just unveiled the 2014 Sochi Olympic snowboarding uniforms. What do you think?
BURLINGTON, VT (December 4, 2013) Today, Burton Snowboards is honored to officially unveil the 2014 U.S. Snowboarding Team uniforms that all riders representing the United States will wear during competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Sochi Games will mark the third consecutive Olympics where Burton has partnered with U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) to create one-of-a-kind uniforms designed for riders, by riders. The pinnacle pieces of the uniform consist of technical outerwear jackets and pants, and in addition, Burton is also supplying the 2014 U.S. Snowboarding Team with hats, gloves, base-layers and fleece to wear while competing.To design the uniform for the 2014 Sochi Games, Burton once again turned to America’s heritage for inspiration. And nothing represents Americana more than handcrafted patchwork quilts and the American flag, which are both at the heart of the 2014 uniform. After a long hunt, Burton designers found the perfect vintage quilt at an antique fair. Then, they brought it home to Vermont where it was deconstructed and re-constructed by a veteran Vermont quilt maker in order to get it ready to replicate onto the outerwear fabrics. Following this, Burton developed a method to print exact replicas of both the quilt and a vintage American flag onto the fabric of the jackets. The end result is that the quilt pattern on the jackets looks like it was hand-stitched with patchwork squares – just like the original. And an exact duplicate of the vintage American flag is proudly featured on the jacket’s sleeve. With the design inspiration in place, the next step was to ensure that the outerwear would perform at Burton’s best-in-class standards so that the athletes are warm and dry in the unpredictable weather conditions that could be encountered in Sochi. So, Burton turned to the U.S. Army Natick Soldier RD&E Center to research and develop Burton’s all new DRYRIDE Vaporshell laminate, which is showcased for the first time in the Olympic Competition Jackets. The end result is a super waterproof and breathable fabric that can stand up to any weather condition.The Burton Olympic Competition Pants were also designed with considerable care and attention to detail. Corduroy was chosen for the pant fabric since it has been a staple of American clothing for generations. To ensure the highest level of performance, Burton sourced a highly technical corduroy fabric (also featured on the shoulders of the Competition Jacket), which is weatherproofed with Burton’s new DRYRIDE Nanoshell laminate that features a waterproof/breathable membrane to keep the riders warm and dry. To round out the outerwear, Burton also designed all items that will be worn under the jacket and pants, including first-layer bottoms and tops, three different beanies, gloves/mitts and a cozy wool/silk blend competition pull-over fleece.Michael Jaquet, the Chief Marketing Officer for USSA added, “USSA is proud to have snowboarding’s most iconic brand as our Olympic Team Uniform partner. Burton has once again raised the bar on design, function, and style with this kit and we congratulate them on once again capturing both the Olympic and American spirit in a uniform the athletes will be proud to wear.”
