Sporting chances from fashion houses

It’s open season for luxury houses at London: shoemaker Tod’s animation features the season’s accessories—the  Gommino mocassin, My Colors bracelets, D-Bag tote and Greca belt that come to life as Olympic athletes. Hermès has dressed the French

Olympic equestrian show-jumping and eventing teams. The last time the fashion house teamed up with the French national team was for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA. Hermès joins the exclusive club of designers including Salvatore

Ferragamo, Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Prada and Emporio Armani in outfitting teams for this year’s Summer Olympic Games. Ferragamo has designed uniforms for the athletes of the Republic of San Marino for the London Olympics.

The tailored outfits comprise a pair of white cotton trousers, a silk crepe dress, preppy blue blazer, blue loafers and a pair of square toe heels featuring a bow. The San Marino Olympians will also show off the updated version of Ferragamo’s iconic bags—the Sofia.

Hand-embroidered Jan Constantine cushions with striking, contemporary designs are on offer as Olympic memorabilia, retailing between L30 to L120. Links of London Cufflinks has created the men’s Olympic jewellery range especially for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games which includes sterling silver cufflinks with a variety of sporting themes. The round 2012 Paralympics GB Logo Cufflinks in sterling silver are stamped with a lion’s head. Limited edition London 2012 set of stainless steel cards are an Olympic collector’s item. Each card is precision etched and features a distinctive mesh pattern. A sporting pictogram embellishes the face of every card while the picture cards feature London landmarks.

Each deck is dramatically presented in a metal ‘shard’ machine crafted  from aircraft alloy. The shard is an impressive party trick: it separates dramatically to reveal the cards inside. These bespoke mesh playing cards come in a limited edition of just 250 with each deck having an authenticity card bearing a unique issue number.