London Set for Olympic Gold Rush

LONDON — The British fashion flock are already into the Olympic spirit.

The news Wednesday that London nosed out Paris in the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics sent the country celebrating as if it had just won the World Cup. Designers were among the celebrants — and they were already figuring out how to work the theme into their collections.

"This is such great news," said Manolo Blahnik. "This will be absolutely an inspiration to me. There will no doubt be some Olympic boots in a future collection."

Stella McCartney was equally pleased. "I would love to get the team looking extrafine in our gear," she said, referring to her new sports performance line, Stella McCartney for Adidas.

Julien Macdonald said he was over the moon. "My favorite events are the gymnastics and tri-athletics, and my designs for the Games would be very glamorous."

According to the London Retail Consortium, a body that represents retailers in and around the city, the Games, which will take place in London's East End, should generate an extra $917 million, or 521 million pounds, for the retail sector.

"Retailers generally benefit from this feel-good factor as it usually means people have a positive attitude toward everything — including spending their money," said a spokesman for the LRC.

It's the first time since 1948 the Olympics have been held in Britain and, in 2012, London will become the first city to have hosted the modern Olympic Games three times.

Caroline Collis, a director at the designer specialty store Browns, said the Games would bring the city a big boost.

"It will impact everything — retail, property, the economy — and people's spirits," she said. "I never really thought of myself as the patriotic sort, but London really deserved this."

A spokeswoman for Topshop said the store would definitely mark the Games in some way, and was already gearing up to handle extra shoppers with an expanded store format that will be unveiled in October.

Allegra Hicks and Patrick Cox heard the news during a lunch at Mortons in honor of Brooke Shields. Hicks said she was looking forward to the gymnastics events in particular.