📳 Winter Olympics 2026 Special
PULSE/3: Where mountain wear becomes media
Welcome to CO/SIGNALS[PULSE] - In this quick-fire series, we highlight collabs that we’ve come across, to keep you on the pulse of brand and media partnerships.
Milano-Cortina 2026 was the first Winter Olympics where the most interesting brand activations weren’t ads that interrupted, but deeper integrations that moved brands from placement to presence.
Across the Games, collaborations pushed beyond logo accreditation and hero set pieces. Every surface became storytelling territory, from thermal layers and transport to recovery lounges and mountain-side athlete hubs.
Brands didn’t just buy media, they embedded themselves into the in between moments of the Games, turning downtime into utility and proximity into cultural presence.
This is part one of a series exploring the smartest creative activations emerging from Milano-Cortina.
We begin with apparel and with Milan, one of the world’s fashion capitals at the centre of the Games, clothing has become more than uniform. From Salomon’s 18,000-strong volunteer kit system to Nike ACG’s branded alpine train, we unpack what these executions signal about the next chapter of sports partnerships.
In future editions, we’ll explore how brands are approaching recovery and rest, broadcast and promotion, out-of-home, and what official sponsorship truly unlocks in 2026.
Apparel is the billboard
The most visible canvas at any Winter Games isn’t a billboard, it’s the outerwear – kitting out volunteers, teams and athletes in ways that blend performance, identity, and storytelling.
Salomon x Team26
Salomon has outfitted more than 18,000 volunteers and organising staff with a 17-piece technical kit, part of a 400,000-piece programme developed over 18 months with the Milano-Cortina team.
Split across “city” and “mountain” environments, the system works as high-performance gear while projecting a unified visual language. The result: a roaming billboard network powered by people.
Nike ACG: From Air Milano to All Conditions Express
The big story out of the games is Nike leveraging Milano-Cortina to relaunch their All Conditions Gear brand, through product innovation, partnerships and experiential.
The Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket features inflatable baffles that allow athletes to adjust warmth in real time. Check out the collab with Dazed in more detail here.
Beyond product, ACG has staged a broader narrative moment: eagle-themed team gear, recovery kits, and the “All Conditions Express” - a fully branded train running from Milan into the Orobic Alps that turns transit into immersion. Keen runners can even win tickets to board it through a Strava challenge.
National uniforms as soft power
Ralph Lauren for Team USA
Like many brands at sporting events, Ralph Lauren is leaning heavily into storytelling with athletes. Here’s a hero montage but there’s much more across social media.
Armani for Team Italy
Armani turned their store into a pre-Olympics party with a fashion show, music, drinks, performances, nearby out-of-home ads, and projections onto the building.
They were also front-and-centre at the opening ceremony, bringing the fashion runway to the games in a performance dedicated to the late Giorgio Armani.
Stéphane Ashpool for Team France
The blend of high fashion, streetwear and performance is… chef’s kiss.
See SportsVerse go deeper here with Stéphane Ashpool, founder of Pigalle and artistic director to Team France.
Lululemon for Team Canada
We see Lululemon take the cinematic approach. Looks epic.
Adidas for Team GB
More of a personal, lo-fi approach on this one.
Moncler for Team Brazil
The brand returns to the Winter Olympics for the first time since they outfitted the French ski team in 1968.
They also launched an exhibition in Milan, showcasing their performance gear.
The podium shot is just the launch asset. Everything is carefully designed and amplified to tell a story and to drive conversation.
The aesthetic outlives the event. The flame goes out and the product cycle continues.
Read: Check out more looks here.
No layers are off-limits
Skims x Team USA
Custom base layers and sleepwear for Team USA.
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FIGS x Team USA
This one was not on our bingo card - specific medical team uniforms is wild.
And more
Base layers. Uniforms for everyone. Lifestyle apparel for the in-between moments. Sleepwear. Every part of the team’s 24 hours has become a brand surface.
What this signals
What we’re seeing at Milano-Cortina isn’t just better outerwear - it’s a redefinition of what clothing does inside a global event ecosystem.
It performs on the mountain, photographs in the mixed zone, tells stories through videos with athletes, and scales in retail.
At Milano-Cortina, clothing isn’t just worn. It works both as product and as media, carrying the story across environments, audiences, and moments.
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