When the general director of the Haitian Olympic Committee, Patrick Blanchet, commissioned fashion designer Stella Jean to create Haiti’s Olympic uniforms, the moment felt like a “political call to arms without the hostility,” she told ESSENCE. Born to an Italian father and a Haitian mother, Jean’s brilliance lies in her unique ability to translate her multicultural heritage into graphic garments that burst with untold stories. For the designer, fashion functions as a cultural translator as well as “a tool of counter-colonization,” says Jean.
The designer envisioned outfitting the 2024 Summer Olympics team as an opportunity to change the common perception of Haiti as a “troubled nation.” Since becoming the world’s first free Black Republic in January 1804, after earning its independence from France, Haiti has suffered from civil unrest, gang violence, natural disasters, and extreme hardships. These events loom large in the collective mind, but the arrival of the fashionable athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony may have wiped the slate clean.
Jean’s uniforms take a high-fashion approach to traditional sportswear, embracing unexpected silhouettes and bearing Haitian painter Philippe Dodard’s “Passage” artwork. The inclusion of the artwork is particularly significant as it references the perilous journeys of Haitians across the Atlantic Ocean. The woman’s style features a white sleeveless blazer with blue piping, crafted from recycled fabric and stamped with the Haitian Olympic emblem; a full skirt in primarily red and blue, boasting Dodard’s painting; and a chambray button-down shirt, woven in Haiti from a “blue cotton” material native to the country.
The wasp-waisted, hip-padded silhouette of the blazer intentionally recalls Christian Dior’s famous Bar jacket, Stella’s way of subverting the dress codes French colonizers once imposed on enslaved Haitians. To accessorize the look, a pair of white lace-up boots and one helix and lip piercing as nods to the Tainos Indians and their tradition of wearing jewelry on different body parts. The Taino Indians were the first people to inhabit Hasiti, according to the Library of Congress.
Equally powerful is the man’s uniform, which also employs Dodard’s artwork on the pants, and features a striped shirt layered under a light chambray jacket that nods to the Guayabera shirt, a traditional garment of Latin origin popular among Caribbean men. “The male model reminds us of the men we love in our society,” says Haitian historian Berthrude Albert. “Our fathers, our uncles and grandfathers.” Another referential element of the male uniform is the patterned scarf, which young Stella grew up seeing both men and women wear with dignity at Haitian markets.
The uniforms are revolutionary in the way they weave different histories into compelling, wearable clothes. “[They tell] the world that we Haitians don’t just display our art,” Albert said. “We wear it, perform it, embody it, and integrate it in various parts of our life,” Albert adds. As the athletes paraded on the Seine, a story of national pride and creative resilience unfolded on the global stage. Here were Haitians asserting their culture in a country that subjugated them to their own for centuries. “We’re the smallest team, the poorest and most vulnerable,” Jean said. “But we’re here with a big smile and high energy to show that we have the courage to pick ourselves back up.”
Social media’s reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Multiple TikTok videos declare Haiti a winner of the uniform design competition with the other popular contender being Mongolia. The world, as fashion designer Prajjé Oscar told ESSENCE we each saw Haiti as “not just defined by its struggles but also by its vibrant culture and the undeniable talent of its people.” Albert echoed the sentiment. “They saw us how we see ourselves: clothed in dignity, power, and purpose.”
Haitians around the world feel motivated to turn this moment into a movement. Oscar sees the potential for a cross-cultural dialogue between Haitian designers and international brands that could enrich the global fashion landscape. Haitian filmmaker Tadia Toussaint agrees, “Haiti is not often thought of in fashion conversations, but this moment shows that it should be,” she adds.