TORONTO - They flaunted the fringe in Calgary, donned trapper hats in Turin and rocked red capes in Lillehammer.

They've sported poor boys and Bugsys, headbands and scarves, among a myriad of looks ranging from classic collegiate to boldly graphic and beyond.

And on Thursday, the latest chapter in Canada's Olympic style movement will be written as athlete uniforms for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver are unveiled.

Over the years, designers of the attire have helped to fuel anticipation by elevating the concept of sportswear beyond muscle Ts and sweats, and creating functional, fashion-forward looks that aim to capture the essence of national identity.

Deanna Devitt, department head of fashion design at the University of the Fraser Valley, said Canada has become a trendsetter in Games apparel by being on the pulse of fashion, while creating well-balanced designs that make strong use of the Maple Leaf and the red and white.

She acknowledged that creating a uniform that's functional for athletes while having mass appeal is a tall order.

"It's sort of that fine line," said Devitt. "You want it to be practical, but you also want to have it seem like you're current, you're modern, you have a contemporary youthful appearance.

"I think over the years, we've sort of adopted that and we've actually evolved very much into that."

Jennifer Bisch, curator of the Costume Museum of Canada, recalled watching the opening ceremonies of the Calgary Winter Games on TV in 1988, and seeing the athletes decked out in cowboy hats and red ankle-length coats accented by white fringe.

"I was quite young then, but I remember myself thinking that they made me smile," she said from Winnipeg. "They were cute, they were obviously a uniform and not something you would necessarily wear every day. But it really invoked the spirit of the place that they were in, and I thought they were a lot of fun because of that."

But perhaps the most recognized piece of Canadian Olympic apparel is the poor boy cap designed by Roots for the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano.

The red beret emblazoned with 'Canada' in bold white lettering became a sensation at home and abroad, with more than 500,000 caps sold and worn by the likes of Prince William and hip-hop mogul P. Diddy.

Devitt said accessories and key signature items seem to continually emerge as standouts during the Games.

"(In) Calgary it was the hats and the shoulder pads; Roots had the poor boy cap, the Hudson's Bay (Company) had the logo scarves and hats with the flaps on them," she said.

"That seems to me to be what we do very, very well and it seems to be something that transcends beyond the Olympics which is nice - it's a signature piece that people want to trade, they want to have."

Shawn Hewson, creative director of Toronto menswear label Bustle, said the pieces that have been the most successful are those that define both Canada and Canadians.

"The thing about Canada is they don't have to be sort of overdesigned and crazy," said Hewson, who is also a judge on the design competition series 'Project Runway Canada.'

"The Canadian brand is so strong that I think the pieces that really represent the Canadian brand well sit well with Canadians, and Canadians wear them and that, in turn, shows support for the athletes."

Canada's Olympic apparel hasn't been without controversy, with debate over Games uniforms spilling over into the political arena.

The federal government and several opposition MPs were crying foul last year after learning most of the uniforms for Canadian athletes at the Beijing Games were made in China, not Canada.

Hudson's Bay Company, which produced the apparel, had said the specialty fabrics in the eco-friendly clothing line were only readily available in Asia. While 80 per cent of the uniforms provided to athletes were made in China, the clothing for the opening ceremonies and medal podium was Canadian-made.

This spring, Canada's Olympic team steered clear of a potential political hot potato by refusing to take up the fight against a European ban on seal products.

Parliament had adopted a motion urging that the Olympics be used for a protest, suggesting that seal skin be incorporated into the uniform as a possible form of dissent. The Canadian Olympic Committee immediately shot down the idea.

While the designs are sewn up, Bisch has her own wish list of what she's hoping to see: namely, an eco-friendly clothing line in recognition of B.C.'s long history of environmentalism, activism and awareness, and apparel that is Canadian-made.

She would also like to see something that's "a little bit outside the box" that gets people thinking about clothing in a different way.

"People are already waiting for these designs to come out," Bisch said.

"When you already have a market waiting for you, I think that's a great time to try out something that's a little bit different. You don't have to go crazy and have the uniforms be impractical or just weird and way out there, but push the boundaries just a little bit."

Hewson said if he had designed the line, he would be thinking about what the athletes need in terms of performance. But in terms of branding and design, simple is better.

"I would probably do a red knitted wool sweater with a big white Maple Leaf on it," he said. "A really kind of big wool sweater, red and white - simple.''

Devitt said she hopes to see a look that maintains a modern feel that highlights ethnic diversity, British Columbia and Canada.

Bisch said the clamour that often surrounds Games apparel stems from a desire to be a part of something shared - and the Olympics fits the bill.

"It's more than just the sporting event. It's about feeling like you're part of something bigger," she said. "I know that that's behind a lot of the imagery involved in the Olympics, and even knowing that, I still want to be part of it."