MAN FRIDAY GO FOR GOLD IN YOUR SPORTS WARDROBE
Take your lead from Tokyo and race to the top of the fitness style stakes, says Stephen Doig
How has your armchair Olympics been? Critiquing that split jump with 30-degree leg separation in the gymnastics as you reach for the Percy Pigs? We’ve all had a rough old time, bodywise, in the past year and a half, but there’s nothing like the Olympics – and a British win for diving courtesy of Tom Daley and Matty Lee – to spur you into action. Even if that 100m sprint is more of an amble at this stage. Especially as – touch wood (surely the most used phrase these past 18 months) – we’ll soon be out of the worst of the pandemic. And it’s likely we’ll be moving forwards with more focus on health and wellness to keep us fighting fit against any possible viruses that may sweep our way in years to come (please, no).
I happened upon a colleague while running during one of the many lockdowns – a nightmare scenario (no one wants to be seen red-faced and puffing by someone who normally sees you in professional mode), not least because my attire was pretty sub-par. Dressing for comfort, obviously, and doing so in a raggedy old T-shirt. I should know better, really, because it’s my job to keep an eye on the winds of style change, and there has been a great deal of it in sportswear of late.
Perhaps it’s been inspired by the leisurewear movement that’s become so prevalent during lockdown; we spent months in tracksuits and hoodies, meaning that our actual workout gear (as opposed to what we wore on the sofa) needed to work a bit harder. Take Castore for example, the brand that was emblazoned across Andy Murray’s chest at Wimbledon (the AMC stood for Andy Murray Castore). The brainchild of two brothers from Liverpool, this independent label has become a stealth operator in the world of big-name sports labels. What makes it so unique? It’s well-made and the clothing contains little details that go the distance – elastane polyester to make movement easier, perforations to aid ventilation, etc.
Then there’s British designer Oliver Spencer’s collaboration with Fila, that most retro of athletic brands synonymous with the quirky Wes Anderson classic The Royal Tenenbaums. The designer has created a sleek range of polos, shorts and tracksuit tops that nod to the aesthetics of 1980s tennis players; it’s a look that can take you from the tennis court to the pub terrace.
Historic, independent house Sunspel – makers of pretty much the best T-shirts in the world, handcrafted at its Nottingham factory – has this month turned that expert hand to activewear, in a new collection of sporty pieces. Its R&D department has created a patented material – a quick-drying cotton – to wick up sweat and stay soft, and the clothes are cleanly minimalist as opposed to the shouty, logoed fare normally associated with gym kit. It might not get you to the Olympics, but it will inspire you to get off the sofa.