Ah, the wonderful world of fashion! How does sport affect the fashion industry and why is everyone crazy about tennis, football and polo these days?

Sport and fashion are not only interconnected, they also develop in symbiosis, complementing and transforming each other. Now this unity is growing stronger and the boundaries between the two sectors continue to blur. Hardly anyone associates hats with baseball, short pleated skirts with tennis or polo shirts with the sport of the same name.

Designers are happy to cooperate with sports giants, stylists offer to combine things of different “types”, and fashion bloggers show us new sports items in their wardrobe almost every day. Modern fashion has definitely set a course for comfort, practicality and convenience. This is evidenced by the brand’s collections at fashion weeks, as well as by the increasingly growing number of collaborations every season.

Today we decided to find out exactly how sports influence trends, why the entire fashion community is crazy about tennis, basketball and skateboarding, and where it all started.

A little history

To reach collaborations like Gucci x adidas and Miu Miu x New Balance, you first need to delve into history and learn when fashion and sport became true allies. So let’s mentally transport ourselves to the 18th century. That’s when fashion began to be influenced by sports. For example, thanks to horse riding, the tailcoat, top hat and gloves appeared in the men’s wardrobe. Since only the upper class, who often attended social events and receptions, became cavalry officers, equestrian clothing was soon reclassified as ceremonial clothing.

Now let’s go back to the beginning of the 20th century, when the influence of industries on each other became more noticeable. At that time, women’s tennis was especially popular. True, the uniform of athletes did not correspond to their profession as much as possible – long dresses, several petticoats, and also a hat. This continued until Suzanne Lenglen entered the Wimbledon tournament in 1921. The athlete made a real revolution by wearing a white pleated midi skirt and a sleeveless T-shirt to the competition. The author of the costume was designer Jean Patou. His collection, consisting of a skirt, T-shirt, cardigan and headband, influenced the formation of a new type of uniform that is still relevant today.

About 10 years later, French tennis player Rene Lacoste founded his own tennis jersey company. We think that almost everyone has a piece in their wardrobe with the same green crocodile. And here is an interesting fact. Do you know why the Lacoste brand has such a logo? All because of the French tennis player’s sports nickname – Crocodile.

Meanwhile, many luxury brands began their journey with sports equipment and uniforms. For example, Hermès (long before the Birkin and Kelly bags) was engaged in the production of horse harnesses and bridles for the richest customers. And after a while, they started producing bags for riders. By the way, the history of the brand is still depicted in the logo of the fashion house.

But let’s go back to the designers of that period who were influential in the formation of the new style. One of them was Coco Chanel. “I invented sportswear not because anyone does sports, but because I need it,” she said. So her collections began to include knitted suits, cardigans and sweaters. In everything she was guided by her own lifestyle – hunting, fishing and sailing.

The first version of the sportswear, similar to the modern one, appeared only in 1939. The set, consisting of a zip-up sweatshirt and elastic trousers, was presented by the French brand Le Coq Sportif and was called very simply “Sunday Suit”. The next major breakthrough in the history of tracksuits did not occur until the 1960s. It was then that the founder of the Adidas brand, Adi Dassler, decided to create not only shoes, but also clothes. And not from natural fabrics, but from superelastic nylon. In order to promote the tracksuit on the market and make it attractive to young people, the brand decided to cooperate with German football star Franz Beckenbauer. Yes, you most likely do not remember such a historical character, but you will definitely recognize the now famous three-striped suit with a thousand stripes. So Adi Dassler’s trick definitely worked, and all the youth of that time dreamed of such a kit.

By the way, about the same story happened with shoes. All the sneakers and sports shoes that are now worn with great pleasure by street style heroes and fashion influencers were originally created for athletes. For example, the legendary Converse Chuck Taylor appeared thanks to basketball player Chuck Taylor, but Nike Cortez sneakers are the first mass-produced running sneakers of the brand.

Trend in Athleisure

In the 2010s, the trend towards everything sporty reached a new level. After the 2000s, the fashion community (and not only) got tired of deliberately sexy images, which included low-rise trousers, high heels and silhouette dresses. The ostentatiousness was replaced by the comfortable Athleisure style. For those who don’t know, it is a combination of sportswear and casual wear in one look (from the English words athletics and leisure, that is, “sport” and “leisure”). Already in 2014, this term ranked third in the number of fashion queries on Google, after normcore and health goths. Over the past decade, fashion bloggers have encouraged the world to wear sneakers, cycling shorts, joggers and sports tops on a daily basis, combining them with classic wardrobe items.

Star effect

In the 21st century, not only models and actors, but also representatives of hip-hop and sportsmen are becoming the main style icons. For example, the hairstyle of Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova became the most fashionable this summer. And almost every second fashionista dreams of a jacket similar to that of racer Lewis Hamilton. But this influence cannot be compared with rappers. In many ways, they became the link between fashion and sports. Thanks to the hip-hop industry, hats, jerseys and hoodies appeared in the lives of hypebeasts. In the 1980s, they monopolized the uniforms of athletes, proving that athletes look just as beautiful on them.

And let’s not forget about famous girls and representatives of popular culture. When Beyoncé wears a T-shirt with the name of the Bulls basketball team or Rihanna wears a large jersey with the name of a player, this product immediately becomes almost the most desired item in the fashion community.

Collaborations between sports giants and luxury brands

In the 2010s, collaborations between luxury brands and sports giants became a trend. During this time, we saw joint collections by Puma and Balmain, Off-White and Nike, Miu Miu and New Balance, Stella McCartney and adidas, Vetements and Champion, JW Anderson and Converse, Vivienne Westwood and ASICS, Louis Vuitton and Supreme. The list of successful and sensational collaborations can be very long, but there is no point because no one dares to deny the fact that sports brands are an integral part of the fashion industry.

New “Kora”

In addition to collaborations, trends are also influenced by new aesthetics emerging on social networks. Almost every day, TikTok users tell and show us what and how to wear. They are also influenced by popular culture, music and cinema. For example, thanks to the movie “The Contenders” starring Zendaya, images of street style heroes in the Tenniscore aesthetic began to appear more and more often on the internet, and brands began to produce tennis shoes, pleated skirts and tight polos.

Shortly after, a new trend codenamed Blokecore emerged on TikTok, based on the aesthetics of football fans. The heroes of street style started wearing sports jerseys, pants, three-striped sweatshirts and, of course, jerseys. After a while, fashion enthusiasts decided to mix Coquettecore (which we talked about last year) with Blokecore. This is how the controversial Blokette trend came about. As you can guess from the description, fashion influencers decided to combine romantic blouses with football jerseys and add the same bows to sweatpants.

Let’s not forget about Brazilcore, the aesthetics of Brazilian football fans last year, based on a combination of green and yellow. By the way, Rio de Janeiro residents wear colorful T-shirts and sweatshirts not only for stylistic reasons – the choice of colors of the flag and the national team has long been a form of protest against corruption and individual political parties. Therefore, we can safely say that Brazilcore has become a real social phenomenon, which has already been supported by Hailey Bieber, Kanye West’s ex-girlfriend Juliana Nalu and Tina Kunakey.

Instead of exit

Fashion absorbs everything that happens in the world like a sponge. It is influenced by music, cinema, history, art and, of course, sports. The popularization of the latter is influenced by collaborations with famous designers and stars (for example, Rihanna and Puma), images of fashion influencers and, in general, the rhythm of life, which suggests a choice in favor of comfortable and comfortable clothes. Nowadays, sportswear looks more than appropriate in everyday life, and traditional cycling shorts paired with a jacket no longer confuse anyone. We are sure that this union of the fashion and sports industries will become even stronger in the future.