With the obvious exception of the brown Coventry City away strip of the 1970s, I am not one to get hot under the collar about kit designs.

So it was much to my surprise when I found that I really, really like the much-hyped Stella McCartney-designed Team GB kit for London 2012.

The red-free Union Jacks have, predictably enough, sparked much comment/criticism.

But I think this is the design's great strength.

In fact, the only items on display I positively did not like were triple-jumper Phillips Idowu's bright red socks.

It seems to me that McCartney has understood that the Union Jack's rather complex pattern makes it instantly recognisable regardless of the colour scheme.


This liberated her to design garments that were self-evidently representative of Britain, without sticking slavishly to the red, white and blue as they appear on the flag.

You couldn't do this with countries endowed with more standardised flag designs, such as the horizontal or vertical tricolour, or the cross, since with these the colour scheme is obviously key to identifying the country.

It would have been a step too far, and probably inappropriate, for McCartney to have used colours entirely absent from the flag.

But the Union Jack pattern would be just as recognisable in, say, pink or black.

The subdued blue and white Union Jack design that she has come up with should be much easier to incorporate into apparel that people might consider wearing as they go about their day-to-day affairs, rather than just when they are playing or watching sport.

So it may also be a savvy move from the perspective of merchandise sales.


Personally, I think it would even make a refreshing change for a supply of blue McCartney Union Jacks to be made up and tossed to medallists about to embark on their much-photographed victory celebrations.

Sadly, so much public money has been lavished on these athletes that I doubt there is the slightest chance of this actually happening.

The least politicians will expect is their legacy of a few months of Olympic-fuelled patriotism – and that means plenty of – red, white and blue – flag-waving.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here.