Sport meets Fashion: Inspiration, Ideas and Ambition from 4 Pioneering Female Founders
Sport meets Fashion: Where two worlds combine and collaborate, led by 4 Female Pioneers
My Bougie Bottle: An example of ‘sport meets fashion’ in the most exquisite way
Sport and Fashion have not always enjoyed the super close relationship they keep now, but there has always been a nod to the power of the professional athlete as a marketing medium.
Influencer marketing is nothing new, but the availability of talent and the number of audience segments they appeal to are now abundant, thanks to technology. Individual athletes have long been a favourite choice of brands everywhere.
There is more to it than just using a sportsperson as a clothes peg, however.
Each sport has its own media ecosystem and within that ecosystem, there are plenty of stakeholders fighting for attention.
The players are at the root of it all, but they need clubs or organisations to enable them, and the clubs and organisations need money from fans via media rights and attendance to pay the players.
Sport-inspired, Commercially driven
Sports leagues and rights holders are always looking for new avenues of commercial income. Whether it is from platforms that bring in ad revenue to obscure merchandising deals, the sporting world is always searching for more money.
Clothing has always played an important role in sports.
Certain sports kits are brands in themselves, and there is a market for fans and others wearing them. Caps, shirts and jackets from well-known sports brands have become staples in popular culture.
The New York Yankees brand, for example, is known and worn all over the world, by people that wouldn’t know that there are 9 innings in a baseball game.
The Yankees Cap - A great article on a Sport x Fashion icon by Esquire
At what point sport became fashion, and fashion decided to piggyback sport I’m not too certain.One could look at Bjorn Borg and FILA, or Nike and Michael Jordan, or going back even further, Converse and Basketball.
Hell, if we go back to the turn of the 20th Century we can find the genesis of a company that would become one of the biggest sportswear brands in the world.
What is for certain is that on 21st century earth, sport is fashion’s muse and sport is grateful to pose for the piece.
Away from the Big Brands
Today, sport and fashion are so closely linked they may as well be looked at under the same lense. There are any number of activewear companies, such as Lululemon and Gymshark, that have used the fitness and exercise industry to grow into household names, and frankly transcend the sector they started in.
There are also the higher-brow fashion brands that have ventured into the world of sport or those who have used influencers in sport since the early 20th century, like Rolex.
Rolex and Golf - An historic partnership
“The interesting thing about Sport and Fashion now is that the excellence of the athlete is not a pre-requisite for inspiration, or even the main focus of collaboration in most cases.”
The way sports, exercise and wellbeing have become staples of popular culture shows that more than ever, fashion and sport are intertwined in all walks of life.
Sport x Fashion: The Next Generation
The next generation of Sport x Fashion crossovers are with us, and we decided to ask some people at the forefront of this movement for their experiences and anecdotes, as we highlight some early runners in the future of this wildly successful relationship.
It just so happens that these 4 challenger brands in the world of fashion are all founded by inspirational women inspired by sports that they love. These fantastic creators have poured the energy and enthusiasm they have for activity and movement into their own brands. All different, but all leading the way forward.
We are not affiliated in any way with these brands and are not getting anything for writing about them, we just admire them, that’s all.
Juliet Pearson of My Bougie Bottle
Juliet Pearson is the founder of My Bougie Bottle.
Juliet Pearson - Brining her personal style and love of an active life to something we use every day.
“My mission has been to create the most convenient, durable, and most beautiful range of double-walled vacuum insulated stainless steel sports water bottles out there, as well as help inspire the movement against the plastic bottle and help sustain an environment-friendly future.”
We like the look of these bottles, which let’s be honest, as an accessory are becoming as normal as carrying your house keys around. As we move away from buying endless plastic bottles of water, we understand the importance of consistency of action as well as consistency of message.
Juliet is doing the sort of work that we love. Creating something that looks great and serves a practical purpose as well as promoting a move in the right direction at the same time.
Inspired by activity, wellness and a love of the outdoors, her brand is growing fast, and is a classic mix of smart, stylish and sporty.
Smart, cool, respectful and practical. My Bougie Bottle.
Christine Wang of TheSkiGirl.com
“I am always fascinated by how fashion influences the sport. It seems like there are new trends in skiing that somehow always follows suit with a change in the fashion on the snow and off.”
“While ski clothing is a practical decision for the average skier, anyone who skis often or is all in with the lifestyle will turn their outerwear into a fashion statement. Skiers are always looking to express themselves in unique ways and ski fashion is a way in which other skiers on the lift of slope can get noticed.”
Christine Wang - Standing out on the slopes
“A little flash and flare draw attention in a way that seems to say 'I know what I'm doing on the snow.' One specific example I can show is how much attention my Astis Mittens get when I'm skiing. While these are the warmest gloves/mittens I have ever used, they also are the most unique looking and definitely a nod to fashion.”
“The trends in ski fashion also change with the times. In the early 2000s with the rise of the X-games and freestyle skiing, it was all about baggy flowing street style-inspired clothing. Now, it's a little more fine fashion with tighter fits and garments that seem a little more dressed up, while still functional.”
Liz Harwood of Famara
FAMARA is an Art-inspired activewear brand founded in 2016 by successful self-taught artist Liz Harwood after she turned some of her abstract ocean-inspired paintings into textile prints.
This, along with her personal passion for fitness, golf and watersports, gave her the idea of applying the beautiful patterns and colours of her artwork to activewear. Liz firmly believes that flattering individual sportswear helps to build confidence and encourages women to enjoy their sport feeling good!
FAMARA launch their 2021 collection of Golf wear that focuses on the fusion of traditional styles and performance fabrics.
“We were inspired by an old photo of my mother in the 40s swinging a golf club in a long pleated skirt, brogues and a belted jean muir cardigan! A far cry from today’s golf garments and this inspired me to bring back the feminine to the fairways”
The FAMARA golf collections incorporate three main factors. Performance fabrics, feminine, flattering designs and contemporary art. The combination is a functional and beautiful collection in the bright colours and eye-catching prints the brand is known and loved for.
A sneak look at the upcoming Famara Golf Range - Inspired by Art
Kristin Price of Epirus
As avid ex-competitive tennis players, my Epirus co-founder Alan Kelly and I found that working full-time and playing tennis during the week had a multitude of pain points.
The brightly-coloured, heavily-branded tennis bags we had carried all our lives were cumbersome, looked ridiculous with professional attire and were useless in every context off the court. We observed and spoke to others with the same lifestyle and found similar sentiments were widespread.
We kicked off the business at our London flat in Epirus Mews and started the process of creating high quality, versatile and stylish racket bags for working professionals.
Three years into the business we have developed the Signature and Everyday Collections, complete with accessories like grip covers and wet bags. We recently released Limited Edition apparel collections which are again created with versatility, quality and innovation for on & off the court activity.
Kristin modelling an item from her extremely cool line. Check it out at Epirus London
And what of the way Sport x Fashion has permeated its way into mainstream culture? An expert view;
Lisa Sanchez - Fashion Editor at The Nines
“I love how athletic wear has gone from utilitarian separates to coordinated, flirty outfits. Thanks to brands like LAPP, Good American, and Set Active you can still put on athletic wear and not feel like a slob (even if you skip the gym).
Certain celebrities show how you might even look flawless when wearing coordinated athletic wear” Such examples are:
Winnie Harlow (https://theninesfashion.com/outfit/winnie-harlow-royal-blue-seamless-contour-leggings-lapp/) can’t get enough of the bright blue set, as she’s been spotted several times wearing it;
Khloe Kardashian makes activewear look effortlessly sexy with boots and an oversized shacket (https://theninesfashion..com/outfit/khloe-kardashian-heathered-sepia-oversize-wool-shacket-good-american/)
Activewear has certainly changed our relationship with sports clothes, and where once there were jeans, there are now leggings.
In a world where anyone can produce an activewear line with a logo designed on Fiverr and the email address of a Chinese factory, the Sport x Fashion space is crowded.
These 4 women are taking bold steps to turn their sporting passions into thriving businesses and admired brands, and we like it.
Sport meets Fashion has never looked so good.
