Haiti’s Olympic Outfits Highlight National Identity at the Opening Ceremony

Haiti, which is not a regular at the Winter Olympics and sent just two athletes—Richardson Viano, an alpine skier, and Stevenson Savart, a cross-country skier—emerged as a standout in the parade of nations. Their delegation, among the smallest, was widely seen as having won the opening ceremonies fashion game.

The looks were created by Stella Jean, a Haitian-Italian designer based in Milan, and were painted by hand to invoke both nature and a work by Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié that shows Toussaint Louverture riding a red horse. International Olympic Committee rules requiring political neutrality prevented Jean from depicting Louverture directly, so she foregrounded the horse against wild greenery and a cloudless sky.

The technical execution is precise and the wardrobe—trousers, a zip-up jacket, a puffer skirt for the woman in the delegation and a traditional Haitian tignon head wrap that symbolizes dignity and resistance—was developed with input from former ski champion Pietro Vitalini.

Haiti, Milan