Posted on by Martijn

Tokyo 2020; Design podium and uniforms Victory Ceremonies unveiled

Podium

©Tokyo 2020
©Tokyo 2020

 

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic podiums were created using donated recycled household plastic waste with Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner Procter & Gamble. Titled the Recycled Plastic Victory Ceremony Podium Project, the podiums were created with the purpose of showing the world the different ways in which a sustainable society can be realised, and engaged the whole population of Japan in the podium production process in an historic Games first. The podiums were designed by TOKOLO Asao, the designer of the Tokyo 2020 emblems, and embody the emblems’ message of “Unity in Diversity”. The podium sides feature a three-dimensional representation of the chequered emblem pattern “ichimatsu moyo”, a design in the traditional Japanese colour of indigo blue that expresses the refined elegance and sophistication that exemplifies Japan.

With the support of Professor TANAKA Hiroya of Keio University in Tokyo, an expert in digital fabrication techniques, the podiums were created using highly advanced 3D printer technology. In addition, aluminium waste recycled from temporary housing provided in the regions affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake was used to create the Olympic and Paralympic symbols embedded in the podiums, in collaboration with Tokyo 2020 Gold Partner, LIXIL Corporation. In approximately nine months, 24.5 tonnes of recycled plastic—the equivalent of around 400,000 bottles of laundry detergent—were collected and utilised in the construction of the 98 podiums that will be used during the Tokyo 2020 Games.

 

 

Costumes and Medal Trays

©Tokyo 2020
©Tokyo 2020

 

Based on the concept of modern ceremonial dress, the costume designs incorporate traditional kimono production techniques, such as “kasane” (layering), “ori” (weaving), “musubi” (knots), and “so-me” (dyeing), while also featuring the ingenuity of modern clothing design, such as cooling technology to make the wearer more comfortable in the summer heat. To represent the diversity of volunteers who will carry the medals and escort athletes at Victory Ceremonies, the volunteers themselves can choose between trouser- or dress-style versions. Environmentally-friendly recycled fibres have been used to make the costumes.

The Medal Trays have been produced using recyclable thermoplastic polymer and bear a traditional Japanese fan motif. Indigo blue, the base colour of the trays, is the deepest of the Tokyo 2020 core graphic colours, and intends to harmonise perfectly with the podiums and costumes.

Costumes and trays were designed by up-and-coming Japanese fashion director YAMAGUCHI Sota.