Hit And Miss
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday July 12, 2007
Mixing fashion and fitness can be a challenge for even the highest sporting achievers.
I'm not a tennis fan and have never been. I'm a hopeless player myself and find the game tedious to watch even at an international level. That said, lately I have found myself looking at the sports pages and tuning in for TV highlights when the grand slams are in progress because I love to see what the women are wearing on court. The young players today have turned it into a catwalk and Wimbledon is my favourite event on the grand-slam calendar as it's the most sartorially challenging.Dress rules apply at the Old England Club with players having to wear "predominantly white", making it harder to stand out from the crowd. Anything goes at the US Open. On her home court, Serena Williams wears black, red, and yellow - whatever she has helped to design with her sponsor, Nike. Maria Sharapova is equally famous for her colourful sports wardrobe, choosing to wear an embroidered yellow and black skirt with a white tank top at the Australian Open earlier this year. More recently she has worn purple, black and blue Nike dresses on centre court.I've seen some standout ensembles while I've been tuned in to Wimbledon over the past weeks. And the usual suspects are again on the winner's podium. Sharapova's best moves were in a white on white dress with a tiered hemline and pretty fishtail detail at the hip. Williams, who is also a fashion designer, wore a sporty little number with a strappy skin-exposing back with pale blue piping on the hemline. Red painted finger nails and massive dangly earrings (weren't they annoying?) were nice touches of defiance. Nicole Vaidisova's simple empire line number featured pretty gold piping and a bow at the breast. Tatiana Golovin had officials scratching their heads when she wore red underwear with her white dress. Was it a breach of the code? No, it was found, because when she was standing they could not be seen below her hemline. But for me, it was Russian Maria Kirilenko who scored a sartorial ace with her figure-hugging white Adidas dress that tapered in at the waist and plunged at the neckline. A belt was tied to the side with a large bow - a winning detail. Google Kirilenko and it turns out she is the ambassador for Adidas by Stella McCartney. All falls into place. That cool dress was designed by one of the hottest and busiest fashion designers in the world. (McCartney designs her eponymous luxury fashion label, has a range of beauty products, works with Adidas and designs other one-off projects like her 2007 capsule range for Target Australia.) Kirilenko's role was announced at the Australian Open last year and at the time she said it "is extremely important to wear products that combine performance with style. I need to have breathable apparel and footwear that is lightweight, stable and well-cushioned. With the new tennis line I feel like I have everything any female player dreams about: great-looking products that actually perform."The big business of sporting apparel is an interesting spectator sport with international companies like Adidas, Puma, Nike and Reebok inviting fashion designers, sports stars and celebrities to join their team. David Beckham's deal with Adidas has turned him into a richer man. Michael Jordan's billion-dollar association with Nike has not been surpassed. Christy Turlington launched her Puma Nuala yoga range in 2000, Stella McCartney joined Adidas in 2005 and in 2006 Reebok announced Scarlett Johansson would launch a new range: Scarlett "Hearts" Rbk.This year McCartney added dance wear to her range, which now includes ski, tennis, yoga, swimming, running, cross training and rock climbing. I must admit when Adidas made the announcement in 2005 I was a little sceptical about McCartney's ability to design sportswear that actually performs outside the yoga or dance studio. From a fashion point of view, her range is one of the best on the market and, yes, it's great to look good when you are working out, but runners especially care more about the function of their apparel. You don't want to run into an uncomfortable spot (chafing) when you are at the 10-kilometre mark with another 10 to go. I'm a runner and was recently given some Adidas by Stella McCartney running apparel. The pink fuchsia tank was the same hue that had appeared on McCartney's Paris catwalk for her autumn/winter 2007 collection and the pale grey leggings looked like they should be worn under a tunic with heels, not with a pair of joggers. This I didn't say to the giver but thought as I headed out the front door in head-to-toe Stella and my old pair of Asics. The leggings felt great. Finishing at the knee, they were the right length for me and fit like a glove. Unlike my other running tops that finish at my ribs, the tank is long and covers most of my bottom. McCartney may not be a runner but she is a woman and knows what most like to cover up. It's not something I would usually buy, given a choice, but I must admit I liked the new length. The tank also has a built-in bra and a fit that hugs the torso. By the end of my run Stella had won a new fan. Form and function: tick, tick. On their second outing it was raining and for the first time I worried about getting splashes of mud on my running gear but the polyester elastane leggings washed up a treat and dried quickly. Tick, tick.I'm not going to apologise for my scepticism. When Adidas unveiled its Y-3 collaboration with Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto in 2002, it was launched as a high-end fashion line with active wear origins. Basically, wear the $400 shoes with your jeans but not on the running track. Over the years the Y-3 collection has featured sandals, wedges, heels, belts, jeans and knitwear and new ranges have been unveiled on catwalks in Paris and New York. Unlike Y-3, McCartney's range encompasses fashion, form and function but it is also aimed at the cashed-up Vogue-reading consumer with apparel ranging from $75 to $450. Regardless of its higher price, Adidas by Stella McCartney is selling strongly in Australia. David Jones will increase its current four concept stores across Australia to nine within the next 12 months. "It filled a gap in the market," says David Bush, David Jones's general manager of women's wear. "It gave our fashion customer access to a technical brand. It looks and smells like fashion, but is a technical and functional label as well. Fashion, function and form plus Stella McCartney - it was always going to be a hit." Kirsten Thompson, women's marketing manager for Adidas Australia, says McCartney's tennis range is the strongest category and they see peaks in sales during events such as the Australian Open and Wimbledon. "The tennis category does well because it has that loyal following. Our customer, like she does with her fashion, will buy her tennis apparel seasonally."Scarlett Johansson and Reebok, which is now owned by Adidas, was a surprising partnership. Johansson is a face of L'Oreal and Louis Vuitton, which have a synchronicity. But the curvaceous Hollywood star and a sports label? The small Scarlett "Hearts" Rbk collection isn't available in Australia yet but in the US fans are snapping up her Retro Aztec running shoes and the feminine apparel, like the cut-out hearts yoga top. Johansson herself has summed up her Reebok range perfectly: "It's casual wear for going to yoga class or going to get a cupcake after yoga class!"
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald
