Stella McCartney changed the colors of the Union Jack for Team Great Britain's Olympics kit to ensure the athletes feel "identifiable."

The fashion designer wanted to respect the symbol's "beauty" while using it as the main focus on the Adidas sportswear for the London 2012 Olympics, but she amended the color scheme to avoid making the sign feel "overused" in the lead up to the spectacle: "I was also aware of the fact that it's something that might be overused in the build-up to the Olympics, in taxis, on cushions and mugs, so I wanted to do something different with it - but that was still respectful of its beauty. Actually, the colors of the Union Jack are similar to a lot of other flags and the athletes really wanted to feel identifiable as Team GB, so I just used different colors to say the same thing."

The 40-year-old designer - who has collaborated with Adidas since 2004 - has also created sequinned variations of the Union Jack kit which cover leotards and printed versions will adorn T-shirts and jackets, and she felt very patriotic while she was creating ''something for the nation''.

"I know I'm biased, but it really is one of the most iconic flags. Working on the kit was, a lot of the time, not about being a fashion designer - it was about creating something for the nation and the Union Jack seemed like the right place to start."