How Fashion Is Stepping Into the Sports Arena

Sports are bigger than ever, especially in the world of fashion. The Olympics—for the first time sponsored by LVMH—are dominating airwaves, TikTok videos, and conversations at dinner parties. The entire Challengers film and Zendaya’s accompanying red carpet press tour looks were inspired by tennis. Designers like Prada are dressing rookies such as recently signed WNBA player Caitlin Clark. Sports superstars including Lewis Hamilton are inking guest designer deals with the likes of Dior. Gucci is designing products in collaboration with Jannik Sinner, the tennis star recently named the number one player in the world.

It's worth mentioning that fashion and sports have a long history. Just look at brands like Rolex, TAG Heuer, and Ralph Lauren, which have long-standing sponsorships in the sporting world that go back over many decades and even over a century in the case of the watchmakers. Or Nike, a brand that fundamentally changed the influence of athletes with endorsement deals after partnering with Michael Jordan on the Air Jordan sneakers. Now, though, the growing influence of sports in fashion is undeniable as the two worlds are colliding more than ever. Ahead, more on the tradition of sports and fashion and how sports are the new fashion platform.

Heritage and History

Rolex has been a pioneer in sports sponsorship since the brand’s earliest days in the 20th century. Today, the Swiss watchmaker supports the highest level of sporting events, including tennis, motorsport, equestrianism, golf, skiing, and yachting. The iconic green-and-yellow Rolex logo acts as a backdrop against the tracks in Formula One, and Datejust clocks tick outside the courts of Roland-Garros. Champions including Carlos Alcaraz and Roger Federer are pictured accepting trophies with Rolex timepieces on their wrists. The brand feels inextricably linked to the world of elite sports.

Ralph Lauren has also been a longtime trailblazer in the sporting world. The Polo Ralph Lauren brand itself is named after the designer’s interest in sports, specifically for the equestrian game of polo. The brand has a long-standing sponsorship for Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and has been outfitting Team USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games since 2008 including this year's games in Paris. “Ralph Lauren is profoundly honored to define the look of the American delegation as they represent our country in one of the world’s most celebrated and storied events,” shares David Lauren, chief branding and innovation officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation. “For nearly 60 years, Ralph Lauren has been a pioneer at the intersection of style and sport—the vibrancy, passion, and self-expression in sport has been a central touchpoint of inspiration for our brand since the very beginning of the iconic Polo brand in 1967. This summer, Paris is the backdrop where fashion and sport will collide on the world’s stage with a global audience and that is an incredibly exciting proposition.” Celebrities such as Sienna Miller have been dressed in head-to-toe Ralph Lauren for Wimbledon, while superstar athletes like Lebron James wear custom pieces for the Olympics, representing the best in American sporting.

TAG Heuer is another brand with a long history in the sporting world. “As a brand, we're more than 160 years old, but pretty much from the beginning of the company, precision timekeeping was at the heart of what we were doing in the chronograph as a complication,” Nicholas Biebuyck, heritage director of TAG Heuer, shares with Who What Wear. “We were born in the beginning of the automobile, aviation—everything happening at the turn of the 20th century. We were right there as a rhythm was happening.” Biebuyck says, speaking to TAG Heuer’s historic involvement in the worlds of motorsports, aviation, and sailing. The brand continues to emphasize that today with its collection of Formula One watches, as the official timekeeper and scorer for the Indy 500, and in the world of cutting-edge sailing at the Regatta di Primavera.

The sporting world has drawn a number of luxury fashion brands over the years. Loro Piana too has a long history in sporting and announced its participation in the 69th edition of the Tre Golfi Sailing Week in 2024. Prada founded Team Luna Rossa in 1997. Louis Vuitton celebrated the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona as a title partner. All things point to the world of sports.

In Culture

Luca Guadagnino’s film Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist also put sports at the center, both on-screen and on the red carpet for the press tour. The tennis-centric film was costume designer by fashion designer Jonathan Anderson, who dressed Zendaya in pieces from his own brands, Loewe and JW Anderson, among others. An opening scene featured Zendaya's pre-college-aged character in a Juicy Couture velour zip-up, and she wore a Cartier Panthère watch and Chanel shoes in the final scene 13 years later. On the press tour, style architect Law Roach dressed Zendaya in looks ranging from a custom Thom Browne white halterneck dress finished with embroidered tennis racquets to Brunello Cucinelli cable-knits to Loewe shoes outfitted with tennis balls in the heels. Since the film was released, it was also announced that Zendaya has a deal with the athletic brand On as its latest brand ambassador.

A New Guard of Brands and Athletes

Interest in Formula One and motorsport has surged in recent years thanks in part to Netflix’s Drive to Survive and superstar drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz, whose Instagram followers are in the tens of millions. Lewis Hamilton starred on the cover of WSJ Magazine’s November 2021 print issue—the first-ever sports innovator of the year. In June 2024, Dior announced Hamilton as the brand’s latest ambassador and guest designer of a new lifestyle capsule. He has also attended the Met Gala five times, including in 2021 when he bought a table to host emerging Black designers. Leclerc and Sainz were recently featured in a Ferrari-themed shoot for Vogue Italia’s May 2024 issue alongside model Irina Shayk. Across the board, the F1 drivers' paddock style—and the style of their significant others—has seen more and more attention as they step out wearing looks by designers ranging from Brunello Cucinelli to Bottega Veneta. Though best known for its cars and Formula One racing, Ferrari even launched a ready-to-wear fashion brand designed by Rocco Iannone that debuted its first collection at Milan Fashion Week for spring 2022.

Nike made history and changed the world of sports forever when it partnered with Michael Jordan on his iconic Jordan sneakers. Now, though, fashion brands without a long-standing involvement in sports are entering the space in new ways. There is a new guard of brands and a new guard of athletes to watch. Christian McCaffrey was dressed in Ralph Lauren Purple Label and Hermès at the 2024 Super Bowl. Caitlin Clark was dressed by Prada for her WNBA draft look. Skims recruited WNBA stars for a spring 2024 campaign and is the official partner for Team USA sleepwear, underwear, and loungewear for the Paris Olympics 2024. Chanel announced its latest fragrance, the upcoming Allure Homme Sport Superleggera, inspired by the visual codes of sporting.

Gucci teamed up with Head and Jannik Sinner for a custom duffel bag that was unveiled on the courts of Roland Garros, just as Sinner was reaching the ranking of number one tennis player in the world. LVMH sponsored the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. One thing is clear: We are just seeing the beginning of how the fashion and sports worlds will be merging.