Sportswear from Acid madness to corporate control
Yesterday THE LOOK took a trip, from the free-form madness of Acid House in the 80s to the blunt end of 21st century corporate branding as part of a symposium linked to the V&A’s current Fashion Vs Sport exhibition.
//Double Trouble & Rebel MCs – Street Tuff//
Music is the vital element in the mix, the enabler and communicator, as explained in Chapter 30 of THE LOOK
The decades since have witnessed all manner of fashion/sports crossovers: surf style pioneered by Shawn Stussy, sneaker culture, the rise of Britpop as football became the new rock & roll, skintight clubbing gear and urban clothing empires such as Jay Z’s Rocawear and Pharrell’s Ice Cream/Billionaire Boys Club.
//New Order/England FC – World In Motion//
With contributions from such leading players as Visvim creative director Hiroki Nakamura, the supremacy of fashion in sportswear was driven home by such examples as Yamamoto’s Y3 range and Stella McCartney’s hook-up with Adidas.
The fervent talk of technological innovation, integrity, masculine affirmation and tier-one branding confirmed a significant issue: sportswear has basically done for menswear over the last 20 years. These days the forum for design development, discussion, interplay and consumption of style among young males is the sports good store.
//Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate//
Up against some pretty hard sell from the caring, sharing likes of Nike and Adidas, Microzine’s savvy Chris Lee provided a number of insights, while THE LOOK plumped to present half-a-dozen great pop moments with a sportswear tip.
As well as the wonderfully all-over-the-place Street Tuff by Double Trouble & Rebel MCs, we screened clips for Warren G & Nate Dogg’s Regulate, New Order’s World In Motion, Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl, Pharrell’s That Girl and Walk This Way by Aerosmth/Run DMC.
//Pharrell Williams feat Snoop Dogg – That Girl//
The latter two make for interesting bookends. That Girl is a prime example of hard-edged global multi-marketing delivered by a top tune. Checking for his label Ice Cream, Pharrell also manages to drop in props for a multinational (Nokia) and - in relative terms – a cutting edge artist (Shepherd Fairey), while the importance for such millionaires to be seen to connect to the street is underlined by skater sequences.
//Aerosmith & Run DMC – Walk This Way//
From an entirely different age, Walk This Way is a defining clip in the growth of sportswear into fashion. Just watch the way Run DMC step out in their boxfresh Adidas. Exhibition curator Ligaya Salazar pointed out that it was this surreptitious appearance, not the clip for the more direct My Adidas, which prompted a boom in sales for the brand.
Fashion Vs Sport is on until January 4. Ligaya Salazar has also edited a companion book with contributions from Christopher Breward, Kim Jones, Sophie Woodward, Mark Simpson, Takeharu Sato and Mihara Yashiro.
I would say one of the defining moments in Fashion Vs Sport was when Admiral did the late seventies make-overs on UK football kits – I’m no football fan, but went mad for the catalogues and clobber at the time. They were one of the first brands allowed to have their label on the tops, tracksuits, bags and make sportswear a must have item outside of the terraces and sports halls…they went on to do US soccer designs for Tampa Bay Rowdies, New York Cosmos, L A Aztecs etc…you can see a scan from my 76/77 catalogue here
http://planetmondo.blogspot.com/2008/05/favourite-shirts-admiral-ringer.html
Starsky’s Adidas SL 76’s trainer were Also starting point for cool trainer culture.