When fashion and sports meet
Sports stars are spawning lucrative second careers collaborating with legendary fashion brands
IT’S NOT a coincidence that there are athletes who venture into the fashion industry while at the pinnacle of their career – it’s almost another rite of passage for some to at least release some sort of clothing or footwear with a reputable brand, whether their collection becomes successful or not.
The collaboration between sports and fashion has been around for decades and sportswear is one of the most popular types of clothing bought by the everyday consumer.
Brands like Nike, adidas, Reebok and Puma became front runners for collections spanning clothes that could be worn on the soccer field, in the gym or on the street.
Most people know of the Michael Jordan and Nike connection, which spawned the multimillion dollar Air Jordan footwear line.
The designs were (and still are) originally intended as basketball shoes, but Jordan eventually designed footwear that could be worn off the basketball courts – and his shoes became a hit among the general public.
Former and current NBA players like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Stephen Curry have all joined the fray of designing and releasing their own collections of shoes which can be worn on the court or on the streets, because of how lucrative those lines can be.
Football and tennis are also sporting codes which have crossed the barrier into the world of luxury fashion. Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo released his own line of men’s underwear, a footwear collaboration collection with Nike, and a clothing collection (shirts, denim jeans).
A recent collaboration has been between tennis star Serena Williams, and Nike and fashion designer and Off-White founder Virgil Abloh – who launched a collection of outfits which Williams wore on the tennis courts at the US Open this month. Originally meant to design only a dress for Williams’s appearance at the US Open, Abloh and Williams agreed to create a capsule collection with Nike using two sports Williams loves – tennis and ballet.
“What I love about tennis is the gracefulness. It’s an aggressive and powerful game, but it takes touch and finesse,” said Abloh, who also created three pairs of Nike tennis shoes for the same capsule collection.
Another recent collaboration was a capsule collection by Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and Tommy Hilfiger, released in Shanghai and New York. Having been a face in Hilfiger’s collections, Hamilton announced the collaboration on his Instagram page before having one of two international fashion shows in Shanghai, marking his collection’s release.
However, this is Hamilton’s second collaboration with Hilfiger after collaborating on another collection with model Gigi Hadid, released in February this year.
The collusion between sports stars and popular fashion brands not only increases the popularity of both beneficiaries, but allows for a diverse variety of clothing from brands known for creating “athleisure” outfits for the gym, the sports field or the street.
With all the collaborations currently available on these sports brands’ websites, it should not surprise the public that fans of fashion are awaiting future collaborations between athletes and fashion brands.