Fashion and sport: this project reveals how two distant universes such as fashion and sport are instead something close. The Paris exhibition features exhibits 450 items of clothing and accessories, photographs, sketches, magazines, posters, paintings, sculptures, video lesson where the evolution of sportswear and its influence on contemporary fashion is highlighted.
Jean Patou, Jeanne Lanvin, Gabrielle Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli it includes pioneers who, during the period between the two wars, were interested in the sporting universe and transcribed it into their high fashion creations. The exhibition shows how sportswear has made it possible to hijack sportswear of its specific use. Comfort, the underlying theme of the exhibition, allows us to understand the reasons why jogging and sneakers have become essential for fashion, both for everyday life and for high fashion, from Balenciaga to Off-White.
In a chronological journey interspersed with thematic parts, the exhibition opens on a circular space dedicated to Antiquity, when sport was associated with nudity. The era of medieval and modern times are evoked through the medieval tournament and the game of palma. We thus discover that that white color, still associated with tennis today, already has its roots in this ancient practice.
Briol Briol — Lacoste advertising 1933 © Lacoste Archives
Female outfits characterized by elegance
Sport takes on a new dimension at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. The section begins by underlining the importance of gymnastics on hygienic and healthy issues, then continues by approaching team sports. There is an opportunity in football and rugby for men to adopt shirts first. Jerseys from the late XNUMXth century and early XNUMXth century are presented with the first soccer cleats and spikes for athletics. On the contrary, female outfits are characterized byelegance tennis, golf and croquet dresses. While the bicycle, first appreciated by men, then also involves women and becomes a tool of emancipation for them. Bloomers or shorts worn for cycling are evidence of this.
Cyd Jouny (1968-, shoemaker) — Soho Basketball (autumn-winter 1993) Tandem basketball (spring-summer 1993) France Leather, hide, cotton, alcantara, perforated leather, inlays and metallic leather applications © Decorative Arts / Jean Tholance
While for winter sports (mountaineering, skating, skiing). they find the use of progressive trousers even in the women's locker room. Also on display is a splendid 30s Hermès sweater and a 80s Club Med ski instructor tracksuit. Surfing and skateboarding they represent essential counter-cultures of the second period of the 20th century. Both are associated with very specific clothing styles where luxury takes over, as demonstrated by the high fashion surf suit.
In the second half of the 1936th century, sportswear began to occupy more and more space in both men's and women's wardrobes. Some "sports designers", like René Lacoste, began their career on the field before arriving on the podiums. Unexpectedly, big names appear: Emilio Pucci as a member of the 400 Italian Olympics team, Ottavio Missoni, world champion in the 80 meters. Others have invested in sport by signing Olympic Games uniforms, from André Courrèges to Issey Miyake, through Balmain or Lanvin. Sportswear will be booming in the 90s and XNUMXs, thanks to a new body ideal linked to bodybuilding and aerobic practice.
Let's find out how athletes have in turn brought fashion to the field, like Serena Williams or Andre Agassi and their incredible tennis outfits or the skater Surya Bonaly with her Christian La Croce bodysuit. The fruitful associations between Lacoste and Freaky Debbie, Gucci and adidas, or Balmain and Puma are well represented in the images of the exhibition.
The exhibition reminds us that fashion and sport are not separate worlds, but interconnected forces that continue to shape our daily lives. The exhibition is also an invitation to celebrate the audacity of those who contributed to this evolution and to imagine a future in which fashion and sport continue to feed each other to inspire and motivate us.
