Borders wheelchair athlete Samantha Kinghorn hoping to be dressed for success at 2022 Commonwealth Games

Gordon wheelchair athlete Samantha Kinghorn wearing Team Scotland's Selkirk-made 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony outfit (Photo: MBP)

Both men’s and women’s outfits for the opening parade on Thursday, July 28, have been designed by Siobhan Mackenzie and will be made of tartan woven at Selkirk’s Lochcarron mill.

Kinghorn said: “The design is stunning. Opening ceremonies are special nights for athletes, and it feels like a lot of time and attention has gone into making sure we are looking the part going out for the parade.

“There are a lot of nice touches and detail across the design, and I can’t wait for that moment at the opening ceremony when we all go out together wearing the outfit.”

The Gordon 26-year-old, having won a silver medal over 400m and a bronze one over 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, is to compete in the T54 1,500m in Birmingham for a third consecutive games.

She’s hoping to win her first Commonwealth Games medal after finishing fifth place in Glasgow in 2014 and fourth on Australia’s Gold Coast in 2018.

“I’m very excited as it is going to my third Commonwealth Games, she said. “I was fifth in Glasgow and fourth in Gold Coast, so obviously my aim is to try and make it on the podium. It’s not my event as it’s the 1,500m, but I’m feeling a lot stronger and a bit more tactically aware.

“I’m really looking forward to it and I’m incredibly lucky to have a games in Britain, where friends and family can come along and cheer me on. It’s going to be incredible.”

Designer Mackenzie added: “It’s such an honour to be involved in the design of the outfits.

“We consulted with the committee and athletes’ panel to make sure it was something they were going to be happy in, and we’ve been delighted with the reaction we’ve had from the athletes so far.

“I played around with the scale of the tartan, which is the main aesthetic feature of the final pieces, and the devil’s always in the detail, with little touches across – buckles, buttons, lininigs and stitching colour.

“It’s a contemporary take on tradition and, importantly, is made in Scotland using traditional methods.

“It’s such an honour to be involved in the design of the outfits – I really can’t wait to see the athletes emerge into the stadium wearing them.”