SPORTS AND FASHION- The court is where the fashion begins!
Fashion’s relationship with sports is not a tough one. It is quite much of today’s wardrobe. While the media covers the oldest tennis tournaments in the world, people are breathlessly showing interest in what the players and the audience wore. In 2013, Serena Williams and Roger Federer were seen in fashionable white duds from Nike. Up in the stands, Victoria Beckham wore a skinny Louis Vuitton dress, Jude law, a dapper wore an Ermenegildo Zegna suit. Much like fashion, these leisure sports (riding, hunting, fishing, etc) were originally the domain of the upper class. Athleticism is something where the clothes should be designed in a way to get greater freedom of movement.
One of the first trends that became popular in the late 18th century was the ‘redingote’, the French translation of the riding coat; which was closely fit, neatly tailored, and unisex.
Another example is the Norfolk jacket, a single-breasted tweed coat made for shooting. It was named after the duke of Norfolk.
Originally, a draper, John Redfern opened his first shop in Cowes, a hotspot for the outfits of leisure sports and yachting. By 1871, Redfern smartly expanded his tailoring and yachting attire for women. His collection became extremely popular and was featured in Harper’s Bazaar.
Talking about sports, football can’t be missed out. It was played in many private schools since the 15th century but it wasn’t until the 19th century that these sports were truly codified. One exclusive contribution is the Rugby jersey. The striped shirt with a collar is still recognizable as a rugby uniform today, both on-field and in fashion. Ralph Lauren designs rugby-inspired outfits for everyday wear. Another key wear is the sweater, a knit wool overlayer to keep the players warm, which was also showcased in Chanel’s 1920s design.
By the 1920s, people started normalizing sports attire as everyday casual wear. French tennis star, Rene Lacoste introduced the pique tennis shirt, creating a lot of controversies with his innovative on-court experience. In 1933, he created his logo of an alligator.
Meanwhile, the first female tennis star, Suzzane Lenglen shocked the audience with her bare forearms and short skirts designed by Patou.
After world war II, the rise of youth culture depicted a heavy shift to informality. Suddenly, sports shoes were fashionable. The rise of movies and television also accelerated the development of celebrity culture. People started idolizing sports stars as fashion icons. Air Jordans, named for Michael Jordan, was introduced by Nike. This was the beginning of the era of fashionable shoes. Every teenager had a dream to own a pair.
Around the same time, another sporty trend came into existence via the hip-hop culture- baseball caps. Even Chanel started producing high fashioned caps.
The 20th century saw some new sporty trends. Skateboarding became popular, with it came Etnies, Airwalk, and Vans as well as the debut of Supreme. Around the same time, yoga was a rising sport for the young, mostly female urbanites seeking a healthy lifestyle. Lulu-lemon made the boring yoga pants more fashionable, often as a substitute for ‘real’ pants.
And this is the world we live in today: the sportswear of past years is mainstream fashion, current athletic wear is fashion inspiration and high-end fashion designers get press for creating fancy shots.
