An article of footwear, apparel or sports equipment, comprising: a film forming at least a portion of a component of the article, the film having a first film surface, a second film surface opposing the first film surface, and a film core between the first film surface and the second film surface, wherein the first film surface or the second film surface or the film core or any combination thereof include a film polymeric material, wherein the first film surface forms an externally-facing surface of the component or an internally-facing surface of the component; and an optical element (12A'/12M'; 12A"/12M") disposed on the first film surface, on the second film surface, or within the film core, wherein the optical element has a first side and a second side opposing the first side, wherein the first side of the optical element, the second side of the optical element, or both, impart a structural color to the component; wherein the optical element consists of two or more layers, wherein adjacent layers have different refractive indices, or have different thicknesses and the same or different refractive indices; characterized in that the optical element alone, not in combination with a textured surface, a primer layer, pigments, or dyes, imparts the structural color to the component; and the structural colour is a single-hued structural colour, or a multi-hued structural color that changes between hues of different colors when the angle of observation or illumination changes by 15 degrees, wherein the hues of different colors differ by at least 10 percent of the scale of the a* and b* coordinates in the CIELAB color space. a film forming at least a portion of a component of the article, the film having a first film surface, a second film surface opposing the first film surface, and a film core between the first film surface and the second film surface, wherein the first film surface or the second film surface or the film core or any combination thereof include a film polymeric material, wherein the first film surface forms an externally-facing surface of the component or an internally-facing surface of the component; and an optical element (12A'/12M'; 12A"/12M") disposed on the first film surface, on the second film surface, or within the film core, wherein the optical element has a first side and a second side opposing the first side, wherein the first side of the optical element, the second side of the optical element, or both, impart a structural color to the component; wherein the optical element consists of two or more layers, wherein adjacent layers have different refractive indices, or have different thicknesses and the same or different refractive indices; characterized in that the optical element alone, not in combination with a textured surface, a primer layer, pigments, or dyes, imparts the structural color to the component; and the structural colour is a single-hued structural colour, or a multi-hued structural color that changes between hues of different colors when the angle of observation or illumination changes by 15 degrees, wherein the hues of different colors differ by at least 10 percent of the scale of the a* and b* coordinates in the CIELAB color space.