Tennis, fashion passion: from Cucinelli to Gucci, more brands on the court
A history linked from the outset to the wealthiest society, the new-found passion for the sport post-Covid, new champions - celebrities attract more and more fashion and luxury brands to tennis
5' min read
5' min read
In a Us Open match in 1978, the audience was captivated by the sparkles coming from the wrist of one of the champions on the court. Chist Evert. Who suddenly asked for the match to be interrupted, as her thin diamond bracelet had escaped from her arm and ended up in the middle of the court. Tennis is a sport with such intense ties to style and fashion that it has managed to change the name of something made of gems symbolising eternity: that rivière bracelet with brilliant-cut diamonds, mounted on white gold, which until then had been called 'Eternity', became 'tennis'. It was such a resounding success that the champion herself recently launched her own collection of 'authentic' tennis bracelets in collaboration with designer Monica Rich Kosann.
This is but one of many debuts of collections dedicated to tennis over the past year. Since its beginnings, in fact, it has been the sport that has been most closely associated with clothing, not least because it is played by the upper class who even in matches could show off their style and wealth, but after the pandemic, thanks to a newfound focus on all things outdoors, fashion has reinvigorated its interest and presence on the court, including through partnerships with contemporary champions and even forays into the world of cinema.
Let's run through some data: according to Google Trends data, global searches for the terms 'Tennis Dresses' increased by 65% between April 2023 and April 2024. The research company Wgsn claims that tennis-inspired styles on the catwalks of the S/S 2024 collections increased by 7% compared to a year earlier. And after Zendaya, star of "Challengers", Luca Guadagnino's film set in the world of tennis, began her launch tour by frequently wearing sports-inspired outfits, searches for "tennis skirt summer outfits" in the US alone jumped 128%, according to boohoo.com statistics.
On her world tour, Zendaya wore a racket-embroidered dress designed for her by Thom Browne; looks with tennis balls pinned to dresses or pierced by heels designed by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe (who, by the way, also signs a collection with Roger Federer for Uniqlo , a brand for which the Swiss champion has been testimonial since 2018), but above all he showed for the first time to the world the creations of the Tennis Sets capsule collection with which Brunello Cucinelli debuted in the "tenniscore", a neologism that defines fashion's passion for the sport. Also Velasca, a brand founded by Jacopo Sebastio and Enrico Casati and born as a handcrafted footwear brand, has just landed in tennis with a collection developed together with Filippo Volandri, a former tennis player and technical director of the Italian national team, and produced by Australian, a Milanese company that has been producing sportswear since 1946. Dunlop, on the other hand, produced the customised balls.
Golden Goose announced that it has signed up three athletes as new brand ambassadors, including tennis prodigy Matteo Arnaldi and padel star Arturo Coello. On the subject of faces, the case of Jannik Sinner is particularly interesting: it was July 2022 when he signed his deal with Gucci, which has made clothing and accessories for him, such as the duffel bag with his initials sported last year at Wimbledon. The style without excesses, fully quiet luxury, of the South Tyrolean champion, somehow anticipated the clear change in the creative direction of Gucci, which after a few months chose a minimalist designer such as Sabato De Sarno to replace the flamboyant Alessandro Michele.
