Sport Didn't Need an Invitation to Paris Fashion Week
it took over anyway
My take on Paris fashion week from 300 miles away.
In the past we have seen sportswear brands go to Fashion Weeks with a more creative, and bespoke version of their brand and products to appeal to the fashion crowd. Think like the highest possible version of ACG for Nike. Now we are seeing sportswear brands stay true to who they are and letting the fashion folk come to them.
And I’m here for it.
In this past week, Highsnobiety ran a tennis tournament. A premier league player ran a 5km fun run for a local cafe. LV have a version of a $60 Vans skate shoe. The Gramicci pop up featured a climbing wall.
Other key events included:
KEEN’s Camp Jasper showroom
Saucony’s Sync Space with group run and Collab Lab
Salomon’s permanent Paris Hub
Puma Suede House
Brooks panel with Jeff Staple and Don C.
Homerun NYC x Nike pop-up
GORE-TEX activation
Re-Run Workshop by Ciele
From what I can find, there were at least 15-20 running or sport-led events across the six days, compared to the 40 odd runway shows in Paris last week.
The perfect example
Myles Lewis-Skelly is an English international and Arsenal player. Last year for him to be involved in fashion week in a meaningful way he walked as a model for Wales Bonner.
This year, he ran a community 5km with local cafe Paperboy, which got more attention. That shift shows that to be involved in fashion week these days, you don't need to be so far from your natural habitat anymore.
Tennis is desperate to break in
Tennis has been trying to crack culture for a while. You can see it in the Wimbledon influencer activations from this year. The sport wants a younger audience and it knows it needs help getting there. So they went to Highsnobiety. Arguably the most influential publication for the Gen Z and Millennial audience. And Highsnobiety responded not with a feature or a campaign but with a tennis tournament. The who’s who of who plays tennis in the culture world, at the Tennis Club de Paris, on opening day of fashion week.
There are smaller versions of exactly this in LA. Crew tennis tournaments, the same community, the same culture. For tennis to become a thing like running, the seeds need to be planted seemingly organically and that’s why the LA version of this matters.
View more here.
Pharrell truly is Skateboard P
Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton show had an incredible set. Surf pun intended.
The runway budget for LV is clearly not going anywhere. But what cut through most was simpler than any of that.
His designer’s walk outfit. Backwards cap, grey zip-up hoodie, jeans, and the LV version of the Vans Authentic. Now, you can say what you want about the luxury version of a Vans skate shoe, or a Keds if you want to get specific. But the fact LV have done a version, tells me they see this cultural shift as well. As creatives, I think it’s important to remember this from Pharrell. We get work because of our taste, not because of the brands. Stay true to what you believe is cool regardless if the c-level understands.
Gramicci brought a climbing wall
And free slushies in 40 degree heat. That’s the whole brand in two activations. Functional, unpretentious, knows exactly who it’s for.
I tried something similar for Pleasing on Carnaby Street last week, custom icy poles for fans queuing in the heat. It wasn’t possible to execute and we pivoted to a virtual queue. But the instinct is the same. Meet your community where they are. Make them feel something and extra points if it can take away a pain point.
Vans and Clarks are taking opposite approaches
Vans are trusting the system that’s lasted 60+ years with their go-to silhouettes and updating the partners. Where Clarks are making sure they are continuing to evolve and hopefully creating new legacy items. Vans are tapping into partners for their cultural moments: Dover Street Market, BornxRaised, 424 and more. I think the ceiling for Vans and this strategy is capped. We have seen the collab game for years now. It won’t put Vans higher than it’s previously been, it might get it back close to the top though.
And Clarks are tapping into current trends of approach shoes and opening up to a new type of customer. But if Clarks hit culturally in the streets with a new product, it could set up the next 60 years of their SKUs.
It’s a risk, but bigger bets equal bigger results. I’m here for it.
The sandal problem nobody solved
Trust me, I looked. At every feed, every story, every photo, everyone I spoke to who was actually there. What were people wearing on their feet during that heatwave?
Boston Birkenstocks. Nothing interesting maybe apart from the Keen Uneek.
There is still no great men’s sandal for that world. Functional enough to walk Paris in 40 degree heat. Interesting enough to belong in that environment. Someone is going to crack it. It just hasn’t happened yet.
The takeaway
Sport is now a big part of fashion, no longer just the uncool little cousin.
This didn’t happen overnight. Gorpcore started it. Salomon became a fashion week mainstay by staying completely functional and never chasing trends. The rest of sport watched and took notes.
As always, thanks for reading.
Hayden