Something that I have noticed but people have failed to realize is how closely linked fashion is with sports. Most people might not fully realize it or just straight up ignore it, but I have to say that fashion will always be an important aspect of sports, whether you like it or not.
I can say that I know a good bit about sports, after all, as children, we are required to attend gym class as much as some people may not want to (for certain activities, I didn’t). And something most people don’t know about me is that for almost an entire decade I was an athlete considering that I did track, granted a good portion of those years were me complaining about how I was over it and wanted to quit.
But to connect this to my earlier point, after being involved in so many outlets where one is considered to be athletic, I have definitely noticed the small areas where athletes tend to both intentionally and unintentionally add a sense of style to their sport. For example, when I was attending those gym classes in school, almost all of the girls around me would alter their uniforms to give them a bit of flair, even if this was definitely against the dress code.
Subtle changes, such as tying the shirts to the side or to the back, were one of the most popular choices, even if this is sometimes a factor of the uniforms being baggy and inconvenient, even if it is their size. I myself did this, as my shirts would always be so oversized and get in the way of the activity a lot. Accessories such as bracelets, anklets, cloth headbands, bright socks, and even stud earrings were present across the entire class, even though they were minimal.
A gym class might’ve been one of my earliest experiences with fashion and sports, and at the time, I might not have been fully aware that my classes and I were experimenting with style, but I started to become more conscious of the link between them when I started to become more active in a sport and continuously watched sports.
Considering that athletes are essentially on display whenever they are doing whatever sport they partake in, it’s quite easy for them to incorporate elements of style while competing. One of the best examples of this is gymnastics. The gymnasts are putting on a performance not just for the judges, but for the people that are watching them, so it’s fairly accepted for gymnasts to wear makeup, style their hair, and wear flashy leotards while performing the risky moves they do
However, I will say that the culture of training young girls that the score they receive can partially rely on their appearance is something that should be critiqued, as it can lead to serious issues with the gymnast, such as certain insecurities.
Even with that said, it doesn’t stop certain gymnasts or other athletes from experimenting with their style. American gymnast Simone Biles consistently wears bright leotards with an abundance of crystals and jewels added in when she competes with striking but subtle makeup, and due to her status as “The G.O.A.T.,” she has even started to wear an actual goat necklace in recent years, which is something personal to her
Fellow gymnast Jordan Chiles also flexes her personal style into her competitions, she has also been shown to wear leos of bright colors and crystals, but she sometimes alters them in honor of the people who inspire her such as Beyoncé – where she incorporates elements from the singer’s past looks into her leotards.
Many Black athletes, including Chiles, incorporate cultural wear such as streetwear and athleisure elements, such as oversized clothing, grillz, denim, and brands such as Puma and Adidas. Athletes from Mongolia have also been shown honoring their culture during Olympic opening ceremonies in the embroidery, structure, and design, which have been highly acclaimed.
But the link is so prominent that some athletes’ fashion choices have bled into the culture of their sport and mainstream culture. This is very prominent in tennis, where names such as Arthur Ashe blended preppy with sporty looks, Serena Williams with her more feminine twist with her catsuits and denim sets, to the literal coining of “tennis skirt” and “tennis bracelet” when Suzzane Lenglen arrived in a skirt that was above her ankles and Chris Evert stopped a match to find her bracelet.
If I were to tie it back to a personal level with track & field, one of the biggest fashion icons was none other than Florence Griffith-Joyner, who was known for consistently altering her uniforms with one leg exposed and the other covered to her signature acrylic nails and bold colors. Her influence is felt to this day with a plethora of track stars incorporating nail work in competitions, bold hairstyles, etc. Sha’Carri Richardson, and even Serena Williams herself, have stated to be inspired by her bold style.
It’d also be disingenuous not to acknowledge the influence of male athletes on fashion. I previously mentioned Arthur Ashe, but one of the more recent examples would include footballer David Beckham, NBA star Russell Westbrook, track athlete Noah Lyles, Formula One star Lewis Hamilton, and many others, who have all made their mark on fashion in some way.
I think more people should acknowledge how fashion moves sports culture, because in some way, it all trickles back down to them, even if they don’t realize it. People are influenced by what they see, even if they don’t care about sports or fashion that much; the effects can still be seen in what they may wear. Sneakers are items people wear on a daily basis; people are wearing a lot of athleisure now, and sports caps and jerseys will never go out of style. All of these elements fall in the same cultural melting pot that is the world that we live in.
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