The intersection between sport and fashion has never been more relevant than it is now. We are seeing an increasing closeness between the two, with fashion-houses and brands recognising athletes as among the most worshiped people in our culture. With Louis Vuitton sponsoring the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and Crystal Palace recently appointing designer Kenny Anaan-Jonathan as its first creative director, with the aim of turning the brand into a “cultural powerhouse”, it’s clear that fashion is embracing sports like never before.
Sportswear has steadily crept into our everyday wear, as fitness culture continues to rise, and we place an increasingly higher value on health and wellness. With celebrity endorsements, media influence and the athleisure movement, fashion has successfully commercialized sport. Lululemon leggings, averaging at 100 euro, and Gymshark’s billion-pound success through influencer marketing, are just some examples of how fashion has capitalized on the sports industry. However, just as we thought the relationship between sport and fashion was at its peak, the summer of 2024 proved the games have only just begun.
The summer kicked off with Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, sparking the rise of “tennis-core”, pioneered by Irish designer J.W Anderson’s striking costume design for the film. The preppy, tennis aesthetic is certainly not unique to this summer, however, Anderson put his own high-fashion twist on the otherwise stale trend. The style represents sport as a luxurious lifestyle, featuring a colour palette of whites, creams, and yellows, as well as a simple way of dressing; pleated skirts, knit polos paired with luxury items such as gold watches and tennis bracelets. Tennis-core isn’t about looking like you can hit a ball over a net, but looking like you own a superyacht in Monaco while doing it.
The trend saw us digging out our white, pleated, American Apparel skirts from the depths of our wardrobes and borrowing our Mum’s Slazenger tennis skorts, whilst brands from Lululemon to Miu Miu to H&M rolled out preppy unitards, caps and woollen polos. With the arrival of Wimbledon in July, the trend was kept alive, in the form of Mia Regan’s striped shirt, Alexa Chung’s beige cable knit sweater, and Ncuti Gatwa’s navy pinstripe suit.
Although Challengers lay the groundwork for a ‘quiet luxury’ summer, the contrasting values of BRAT by Charli XCX, and its domination of pop culture, overshadowed this trend before it was able to fully gain momentum. However, its influence through luxurious sportswear and functional designs like skorts, will certainly endure.
The UEFA European Football Championship saw sportswear being used as a tool for identity expression, particularly through football jerseys. Traditionally a masculine item, jerseys were catapulted into mainstream fashion, with the help of celebrities like Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa, and Sabrina Carpenter, who wore an English jersey over her Versace dress at London Capital Ball in June. Ahead of the Euros, searches for England jerseys were up a staggering 623 per cent, and football teams have even begun hiring creative directors in-house.
Jerseys were innovatively reworked, and became unique symbols of cultural identity. Irish musician CMAT wore a reworked Dublin jersey at her Fairview concert in June, adorned with lace and bows, over a pair of lace-frilled O’Neill’s shorts, designed by Sophie Murphy, a nod to the Irish nostalgia that her music often evokes. The trend is here to stay, driven by the importance of jerseys in expressions of national pride, but also with the constant demand from ongoing sporting events, particularly as women’s sport is on the rise.
In late summer, deemed the “Most Fashionable Olympics Ever”, the 2024 games became a global platform for art and expression, with athletes’ uniforms paying homage to their countries’ cultures and identities. Skateboarding, which made its debut at the Tokyo Games, showcased its streetwear roots, with athletes taking advantage of their open-ended wardrobes, a luxury unique to the sport. Athletes leaned into the streetwear style, wearing baggy camo pants, crop tops and all black outfits, with very few opting to represent their country’s flag or colours. As skateboarding was launched onto the world stage this season, its signature street style fashion is sure to follow.
With Kim Kardashian’s brand SKIMS designed the loungewear and underwear for Team USA, setting the stage for a new trend in athleisure for tight, figure-hugging clothing.
Meanwhile, Korean sharpshooter Kim Yeji, hailed as the “coolest athlete” at the games, went viral for wearing her daughter’s stuffed elephant toy as a keychain on her waist as she broke a new world record, likely sparking a trend for eccentric charms and toy keychains.
In the summer of 2024, sportswear didn’t just follow trends- it set them, proving that the relationship between sport and fashion is not just a short-lived moment, but an important movement that is here to stay.
