“Ugly”, this is how many netizens felt when they first saw the dress of the Chinese delegation in the Rio Olympics.

Ye Chaoying, a designer from Wenzhou, is used to comments from netizens. This is the third time he has faced similar criticism. Ye Chaoying is the chairman of Zhejiang Jueshuai Garment Co., Ltd. Through its relationship with Hengyuanxiang, this company has taken on the important task of designing and producing Olympic dresses.

The first appearance of "Tomato Scrambled Eggs" was at the dress conference of the Chinese delegation at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The red and yellow suit jacket is paired with a white round-brimmed hat. Some netizens still complain that this is the look of a "country tour group". At that time, Ye Chaoying designed 8 sets of dresses of different colors for the Beijing Olympics, and the Chinese Olympic Committee finally decided to adopt the "tomato scrambled eggs" design.

After the first plate of "tomato scrambled eggs" was served, Ye Chaoying received numerous criticisms, and some even called him "China's sinner", which made him feel very aggrieved. A friend comforted him and said: "Lu Xun was also scolded by people all over the country."

He was constantly criticized by the public, but "Tomato Scrambled Eggs" remained standing. In March last year, Ye Chaoying received a design task again. This time he handed over 5 plans with different colors and styles, but the official still chose "tomato scrambled eggs".

Ordinary people are not willing to tell the difference between these "tomato scrambled eggs", but according to Ye Chaoying, the red and yellow main colors of the three dresses are very different. The red of the Rio Olympics is faintly With yellow, the red of the London Olympics is taken from the national flag, and the Beijing Olympics uses the red of Tiananmen Gate Tower. Rio Olympics dress accessories also incorporate local elements of Rio. For example, the tie scarf uses the green and blue colors of the Rio Olympics LOGO, and the cuffs of the clothing have Rio's characteristic five-star pattern.

“Let Chinese athletes feel like they are wearing the national flag when entering the venue during the opening ceremony,” Ye Chaoying told Lanxiong Sports. He once discussed with psychologists that such color matching can subconsciously make athletes feel that they are Champion, because champions like to run around the field wearing the national flag.

The designer responsible for the image of the country's athletes did not come from a professional background. Ye Chaoying once studied mechanics and entered the family clothing industry in Wenzhou at the age of 19. Ye Chaoying has long been accustomed to questions about her professionalism. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, she responded domineeringly: "Did Steve Jobs ever study design? Heroes should never ask where they came from."

▲ China at the Beijing Olympics Sports delegation.

It’s not just ordinary viewers who can’t understand “scrambled eggs with tomatoes”. An Olympic champion who asked not to be named told Lanxiong Sports that he and his teammates thought the dress was "ugly", although the fabric was indeed quite comfortable.

Ye Chaoying disagrees with this. In his impression, among the Olympic floats in the National Day military parade in 2009, there was an Olympic champion who appeared in "tomato scrambled eggs", so he believes that "athletes still like formal wear." of".

However, Ye Chaoying also admitted that he did not have much contact with athletes during the design process because they were too busy, but he hopes to have the opportunity to communicate with athletes more and listen to their opinions in the future.

Ye Chaoying’s inability to contact athletes is mainly due to the design and production process of Olympic dresses.

Jueshuai Garment only received the final list of participating athletes in early July, and the Olympic Games opened in early August, and the Chinese delegation was established in mid-to-late July, leaving the manufacturer with a very short production cycle. For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, manufacturers were only given about a week. For the 2016 Rio Olympics, the customized clothing for 711 athletes and officials had to be completed within half a month.

According to Ye Chaoying, Olympic gowns have a strict production process, so only one factory, Jueshuai, is responsible for the production. However, local people in the clothing industry in Wenzhou revealed to Lanxiong Sports that in fact, another franchised factory of Hengyuanxiang in Wenzhou is also involved in the production of dresses.

First of all, compared to ordinary people, athletes have special body shapes. From slender gymnasts to strong weightlifters, clothing data measurements must be accurate. Jueshuai's three fit masters have been going to major training bases across the country since January this year to measure more than 1,000 Olympic hopefuls.

However, Jueshuai's precise measurements did not produce a perfectly fitting product. According to the Olympic champion, after many Olympic athletes get their dresses, they will have them altered by outside masters, otherwise the waistline of their pants will be too big and they will not fit at all.

The daily dressing habits of athletes are also factors that Ye Chaoying must consider. He once thought about making the clothing more personal and fashionable, but he said that the more important requirement of the dress is that the athletes can wear it without burden and not feel stuffy or uncomfortable. After all, the weather in Rio is hot and the Olympic opening ceremony lasted a long time; In addition, the age span of the delegation members is relatively large, and some female members cannot accept short skirts and suspenders. Most athletes are also accustomed to wearing loose clothes, especially northern athletes who are not suitable for close-fitting suits. "The styles of clothes have been shortened a lot, and the skirts have been shortened a lot, but the overall style is a little more conservative," said Ye Chaoying.

A clothing practitioner told Lanxiong Sports that the dress effect is not good, first of all, the color. In fact, the national flag color matching can also produce very beautiful colors, but the color saturation of the dress is too high, and the second reason is the version. She thinks the length of women's skirts is awkward, old-fashioned and shows short legs. Some men's suits are too big, and short athletes fall into the clothes, while others are too short. The sleeves of many athletes' suits are even longer than their shirts. The normal standard is that shirt sleeves are 1 cm longer than suit sleeves.

▲ The Chinese delegation dress for the 2012 London Olympics.

It is unfair to simply attribute the doubts about "tomato scrambled eggs" to Zhejiang Jueshuai Garment Co., Ltd., because Hengyuanxiang is the sponsor of the Chinese sports delegation's Olympic uniforms.

This 89-year-old Shanghai clothing brand has provided Olympic gowns to Chinese Olympic athletes for three consecutive years. In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Rio Olympics, this suit will also appear in formal occasions such as the founding meeting of the Chinese sports delegation and the commendation meeting after the Olympics. In addition, it also participated in the dress sponsorship of the Asian Games.

In December 2005, Hengyuanxiang became a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. This was also the first non-sports textile and apparel corporate sponsor in the history of the Olympic Games. Olympic Games sponsor status is a third-level sponsoring company after the International Olympic Committee's global partners and Olympic Games partners, and enjoys many rights such as the use of the Olympic Games logo.

Due to the large amount of sponsorship, Hengyuanxiang went all out in using rights. In the most controversial "Sheep Sheep Sheep" advertisement at the time, its corporate logo and the Beijing Olympics LOGO have always appeared on TV screens. On November 30, 2008, Hengyuanxiang became the first partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee for the London Olympics. In addition, Hengyuanxiang also sponsors CBA, WCBA, World Table Tennis Championships, Gymnastics World Cup, Beijing Marathon and many other sports events.

Although Hengyuanxiang has a strong sports complex, making Olympic attire is indeed not its strength. As a time-honored brand founded in 1927, Hengyuanxiang's products cover four categories: wool, knitting, clothing, and home textiles. Plush products such as sweaters, down jackets, and duvets are the main products of this Shanghai brand. Suits only account for a very small part of its products. Proportion. Its customer base is mainly middle-aged and elderly people, and its product design style tends to be conservative and old-fashioned.

Whether it is a formal dress or a fashionable casual suit, Hengyuanxiang can hardly represent the level of Chinese craftsmanship. Perhaps it is for this reason that Hengyuanxiang, which does not have a suit design team, immediately handed over this important task to its franchised factory Jueshuai Garments after accepting the order for Olympic dresses. Jueshuai's business is mainly OEM production. It does not have its own clothing brand, and its design and production levels are not among the top ranks even in Wenzhou.

For example, Wenzhou suit brands Xiangxiniao, Zhuangji, and Fapai all have better design and craftsmanship standards. Look across the country. There are also well-known clothing brands such as Qipai, Jinba, Septwolves, Lilang, and Jiangnan Buyi.

▲ For three consecutive Olympic Games, “tomato scrambled eggs” has attracted complaints from netizens.

Let’s take a look at the clothing brands chosen by delegations from various countries in the Rio Olympics.

Sweden cooperated with Hamp; South Korea handed over to Beanpole, Italy continued to work with Giorgio Armani, and Cuba, which has a less fashionable atmosphere, simply invited the French brand Christian Louboutin to design for it.

It can be seen that most countries prefer local brands, but without exception they are brands targeting young people and focusing on fashion and leisure styles.

The dress will not affect the Olympic athletes competing for gold and silver, but as the clothing for the opening and closing ceremonies, it not only reflects the personal image of the athletes, but also demonstrates the level of clothing craftsmanship of a country. There is no need to express gratitude. This is also an important part of establishing a national image.

The flowing Olympic Games, the iron-clad "tomato scrambled eggs", the eternal complaints.

In the face of complaints, Ye Chaoying no longer feels aggrieved, "This scolding is nothing. I feel satisfied to be able to contribute to the national sports industry as a super volunteer."

The "tomato scrambled eggs", which was ridiculed by netizens, has now become Hengyuanxiang's key marketing direction.

A few days before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, Ye Chaoying registered the trademark "Tomato Scrambled Eggs", which is applicable to shoes, clothing, hats and socks. Later he transferred the trademark to Hengyuanxiang.

Hengyuanxiang made it clear that it hopes to make "tomato scrambled eggs" an integral element of the brand and will vigorously promote the concept of "tomato scrambled eggs" in the Rio Olympics sports marketing activity plan. The day before the Rio Olympic dress was released, Hengyuanxiang held a "tomato and egg" battle as true to his word.