Team New Zealand and Kathmandu have debuted the 2026 Commonwealth Games kit featuring a focus on sustainability and New Zealand\u2019s history at the games. <\/p>\n
\n The games, due to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, next month, will involve 116 New Zealand athletes competing across 10 categories, from boxing to lawn
\n bowls.\n <\/p>\n
Since the first Commonwealth Games in 1930, New Zealand athletes have always been dressed in the recognisable black and white uniform. <\/p>\n
In a departure from tradition, for this year\u2019s games designers at Kathmandu have added a soft glacier blue into the mix, staying true to the black and white tradition but with a subtle splash of colour inspired by New Zealand\u2019s landscapes. <\/p>\n
The Kathmandu-designed Commonwealth kit includes a new blue hue.<\/p>\n
Kathmandu chief executive Megan Welch says they wanted to give the kit a fresh perspective and \u201cblack and white are absolutely inherent to New Zealand\u2019s team and how we show up in the rest of the world, for these games we wanted to bring in a little bit more interest and colour\u201d. <\/p>\n
This is the second Team NZ uniform designed by Kathmandu, following on from the Winter Olympics kit earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The brand says the Commonwealth collection has sustainability and longevity at its core, using sustainably sourced fabrics like special merino wool that allow temperature regulation, while being naturally wind- and water-resistant. <\/p>\n
The team\u2019s podium tracksuit uses new recycling technologies that turn plastic waste like car tyres into nylon fibres. <\/p>\n
The uniforms are designed with a sustainability focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were looking at how we can push the boundaries for technical and performance fabrics with that sustainability lens, using work we\u2019ve already done and also bring some new things to the market,\u201d Welch says. <\/p>\n
These new textile technologies are also used in Kathmandu\u2019s current collection and upcoming Commonwealth supporter gear collection, including replicas of some kit pieces. <\/p>\n
The tracksuit has a retro flair, described as \u201cfuture nostalgia\u201d, taking inspiration from sporting silhouettes and Kathmandu designs of the past, with classic elements like colour blocking. <\/p>\n
Historical nods include the NZZN symbol, created by Scottish-born designer Colin Simon for the 1974 games held in Christchurch. <\/p>\n
This is the second time Kathmandu has designed the Team New Zealand kit. <\/p>\n
Speaking to the retro feel, Team New Zealand swimmer Erika Fairweather says, \u201cWe stand on the shoulders of the athletes that came before us, so to carry that through the pieces of clothing we wear and bring that influence into our own games is really special and kind of unique to this collection.\u201d <\/p>\n
Other easter eggs include Gaelic lettering on the collection\u2019s rugby jersey \u2013 a reference to New Zealand and the games\u2019 host city. <\/p>\n
There are also nods to New Zealand\u2019s scenery and a QR code on the inner pocket of the opening ceremony blazer that leads to messages from family, friends and fans. <\/p>\n
The Commonwealth Games kick off with the opening ceremony at 6am on Friday, July 24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Team New Zealand and Kathmandu have debuted the 2026 Commonwealth Games kit featuring a focus on sustainability and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2246,34284,95,7022,26561,51038,96155,15144,1958,2082,6489,305,1861,36168,84285,117,111,139,69,61758,213,3694,7187,61,16550,80,2963],"class_list":["post-495157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-2246","tag-adds","tag-and","tag-black","tag-colour","tag-commonwealth","tag-debuted","tag-featuring","tag-focus","tag-for","tag-games","tag-have","tag-history","tag-kathmandu","tag-kit","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-retro","tag-sports","tag-sustainability","tag-team","tag-to","tag-white","tag-zealand","tag-zealands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}