Stella McCartney's Team GB outfit for London 2012 comes under fire

Absence of red in outfits criticised by sports psychologist
Wearing red has shown to increase probability of victory

Paolo Bandini - guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 March 2012 15.48 EDT

Stella McCartney may have disadvantaged Team GB by failing to include more red in their outfits for London 2012. The designs – based around a deconstructed Union flag – drew a mixed reaction after they were unveiled at the Tower of London on Thursday, but were criticised by a leading sports psychologist as well as an academic who has done extensive research on the impact of uniform colour on athlete performance.

Professor Robert Barton, along with his university of Durham colleague Dr Russell Hill, co-authored a report in 2005 that showed that wearing the colour red consistently increased athletes' probability of victory. Their initial study was based around combat sports – for which competitors are randomly assigned either blue or red uniforms – at the Athens Olympics, but subsequent research has shown similar trends across a range of sports.

"Obviously she has designed these from a fashion...