It is no surprise anymore when you see athletes as the face of your favorite designer brand’s new campaign, sitting in the front row of fashion shows, or even on the cover of what has long been considered the fashion bible, Vogue. However, this has not always been the case, and as fashion continues to evolve, it has created a deeply intertwined connection with the sports world.
Whether you like sports or fashion, it is impossible to look at one without seeing the other. It could be argued that what an athlete wears to, from or during their sporting event will get more buzz and have more cultural significance in most cases than whether they won or lost.
According to Koktail Magazine, athletes becoming fashion icons began in the 1980s with Michael Jordan and Nike’s Air Jordans. These are shoes that most of us cannot avoid seeing. Their cultural significance cannot be overstated. Air Jordans captured and held fans’ attention from the time they were released to today.
From the thousands of videos on the internet showing off Air Jordan collections to the 2023 movie “Air” centered around Nike, Michael Jordan and the shoes, this is a turning point where the culture around sports and the culture around fashion began to collide.
This connection only grew; brands that specialized in sportswear like Nike, Adidas and Puma became very popular within hip-hop culture. This led to the transition from sportswear being used to play sports to being an essential aspect of streetwear. More athletes, especially basketball players like Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson, started to not only be leaders on the court but also started to influence fashion trends off the court.
Soon, it wasn’t just sportswear brands working with athletes; designers started to as well. In the 2000s, David Beckham began his partnership with Armani. This was pivotal because David Beckham was an influential soccer player, but he was not showing athletic attire when modeling with Armani. He was instead doing an underwear ad with them. His off-field style was also very influential to the early 2000s fashion world.
In the 2010s, athletes were no longer just working with fashion brands; they began to create their own in collaboration with other brands. For example, Lebron James, Nike and Foot Locker collaborated to make House of Hoops, and Serena Williams created Aneres. Virgil Abloh, the creator of Off-White, began collaborating with both sportswear brands like Nike and high-end designers like Louis Vuitton, further solidifying this link with sportswear and high-end fashion.
Now, there are inescapable partnerships between designers and athletes. Sportswear being worn casually has become extremely common in today’s world, but this isn’t the first time in history that this has been the case. In the 1920s, it was common for wealthy people on vacation to wear sports attire. However, with the continued evolution of textiles, the look of sportswear has changed significantly.
Now with these very comfortable fabrics, athleisure has become even more mainstream. Today, athleisure is for everyday wear, and since COVID-19, it has grown even further in popularity and trendiness. It is trendy and stylish to wear a matching leggings set even if you are not working out or even lounging. It is very normal for someone to enter places like schools, restaurants and stores in a workout set that hasn’t seen an ounce of sweat.
Sports and fashion have shown a culture collision over many years, from athletes partnering with designers to your next-door neighbor wearing Lululemon to the grocery store. One thing is for sure: fashion and sports will continue to evolve together.