Sportswear (fashion)
Encyclopedia
Sportswear has been called America
's main contribution to the history of fashion design
. The term became popular in the 1920s to describe relaxed, casual wear typically worn for spectator sports. Since the 1930s the term is used to describe both day and evening fashions of varying degrees of formality that demonstrate this relaxed approach while remaining appropriate wear for many business or social occasions.
houses. The clothes were intended to be easy to care for, in easily washable fabrics, with accessible practical fastenings, to enable the modern, increasingly emancipated woman to dress herself without a maid
's assistance. While most fashions in America in the early 20th century were directly copied from Paris, designer sportswear was the exception to this rule, being an American invention.
who in the 1870s began designing tailored garments for increasingly active women who rode
, played tennis
, went yachting
, and did archery
. Redfern's clothes, although intended for specific sporting pursuits, were adopted as everyday wear by his clients, making him probably the first sportswear designer.
Some early 20th century Paris designers such as Gabrielle Chanel created haute couture
designs that could be considered sportswear, though were not exclusively sportswear designers. Chanel promoted her own active, financially independent lifestyle through her relaxed jersey suits and uncluttered dresses. Other designers offering high end sportswear for resort wear
included Jean Patou
and Elsa Schiaparelli
. In contrast to the flexibility of American sportswear, these expensive couture garments were prescribed to be worn in very specific circumstances.
and Claire McCardell
were among the first American designers to gain name recognition through their innovative clothing designs. Richard Martin
described these designers as aiming to produce clothes demonstrating "problem-solving ingenuity and realistic lifestyle applications". McCardell has been called America's greatest sportswear designer. Her simple, practical clothes suited the relaxed American dress code, neither formal nor informal, that became established during the 1930s and 1940s. Sportswear uses elements of sporty informal or casual wear such as Clare Potter's innovative evening sweater and evening skirt draped like a sidesaddle
riding habit.
Many of the first sportswear designers were women. A common argument was that female designers projected their personal values into this new style. In the 1930s and 40s, it was rare for clothing to be justified through its practicableness. It was traditionally thought that Paris fashion exemplified beauty, and therefore, sportswear required different criteria for assessment. The designer's personal life was therefore linked to their sportswear designs. Another selling point was sportswear's popularity with consumers, with department store
representatives such as Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor
using sales figures to back up their claims. Martin credits the 1930s and 40s sportswear designers with freeing American fashion from the need to copy Paris couture. Where Paris fashion was traditionally imposed onto the customer regardless of her wishes, American sportswear was democratic, widely available, and encouraged self-expression. The early sportswear designers proved that the creation of original ready-to-wear fashion could be a legitimate design art which responded stylishly to utiliarian requirements.
, one of the first significant male sportswear designers, incorporated elements of menswear into his relaxed women's clothing. His fondness for layering garments and menswear elements are widely used by early 21st century industry designers. Marc Jacobs
, who set up his own-name label in 1986, is renowned for layered informality in both day and luxurious evening wear. Late 20th century sportswear greats include the industry empires of Ralph Lauren
, Calvin Klein
, Donna Karan
, and Tommy Hilfiger
, each of whom created distinctive wardrobes for the American woman based upon stylish but wearable, comfortable and interchangeable multi-purpose clothes that combined practicability with luxuriousness. Most early 21st century sportswear design follows in the footsteps of these designers.
Alongside Jacobs, other notable 1980s and 1990s sportswear designers include Isaac Mizrahi
, who presented his first collection in 1987. The original Isaac Mizrahi label closed in 1998, and Mizrahi subsequently designed a womenswear diffusion collection for Target from 2002 to 2008.
published that their surveys showed that an average of 64% of women interviewed preferred casual wear, including sportswear as distinct from active wear
.
Notable New York sportswear designers of the 21st century include Zac Posen
, Proenza Schouler
, Mary Ping
, Derek Lam
, and Behnaz Sarafpour
, who were all featured in the Sportswear section of the Victoria & Albert Museum's New York Fashion Now exhibition in 2007.
and Jacques Fath
simplified their designs for ready-to-wear production, but at first only the Italian designers understood the sportswear principle. Designers such as Emilio Pucci
and Simonetta Visconti grasped that there was a market for clothing that combined sophistication and comfort.
Italy had a reputation for fine fabrics and excellent workmanship, and the emergence of high quality Italian ready-to-wear that combined this luxury with the casual quality of American sportswear ensured the worldwide success of Italian fashion by the mid-1970s. This was a challenge to the American industry. John Fairchild, the outspoken publisher of Women's Wear Daily
opined:
In the 21st century Italian fashion remains a leading source for sportswear design outside the United States. Narciso Rodriguez
, who is known for streamlined and pared down clothing, launched in Milan
in 1997, but moved to New York in 2001. Miuccia Prada
revived the fortunes of her family company Prada
with her top-quality sportswear designs in the 1990s, and continues designing for the firm.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
's main contribution to the history of fashion design
History of fashion design
-Couture beginnings:The first fashion designer who was not merely a dressmaker was Charles Frederick Worth . Before the former draper set up his maison de couture in Paris, clothing design and creation was handled by largely anonymous seamstresses, and high fashion descended from styles worn at...
. The term became popular in the 1920s to describe relaxed, casual wear typically worn for spectator sports. Since the 1930s the term is used to describe both day and evening fashions of varying degrees of formality that demonstrate this relaxed approach while remaining appropriate wear for many business or social occasions.
History of sportswear
Sportswear started out as a fashion industry term describing informal and interchangeable separates (i.e., blouses, shirts, skirts and shorts), but now describes clothing worn for a wide range of social events. It was developed to cater to the needs of the increasingly fast-paced lifestyle of American women. The early sportswear designers were associated with ready-to-wear manufacturers, rather than haute coutureHaute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
houses. The clothes were intended to be easy to care for, in easily washable fabrics, with accessible practical fastenings, to enable the modern, increasingly emancipated woman to dress herself without a maid
Lady's maid
A lady's maid is a female personal attendant who waits on the lady of the house. The position is very similar to a gentleman's valet. Traditionally, in eras past, the lady's maid was not as high-ranking as a lady's companion, who was a retainer rather than a servant, but the rewards included room...
's assistance. While most fashions in America in the early 20th century were directly copied from Paris, designer sportswear was the exception to this rule, being an American invention.
Pre-1930
Sportswear originally described clothing made specifically for sport. One of the first couturiers to specialise in this was John RedfernRedfern (couture)
Redfern was a British couture house with branches in Paris and the United States which operated between 1881 and 1929. It was founded in London in 1855 by John Redfern. His designs were often featured in La Gazette du Bon Ton....
who in the 1870s began designing tailored garments for increasingly active women who rode
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, played tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, went yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
, and did archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
. Redfern's clothes, although intended for specific sporting pursuits, were adopted as everyday wear by his clients, making him probably the first sportswear designer.
Some early 20th century Paris designers such as Gabrielle Chanel created haute couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
designs that could be considered sportswear, though were not exclusively sportswear designers. Chanel promoted her own active, financially independent lifestyle through her relaxed jersey suits and uncluttered dresses. Other designers offering high end sportswear for resort wear
Resort wear
Resort wear is a specialized clothing style, as well as a year-round fashion "season". Sometimes known as "cruise wear", it was originally marketed by upscale stores and collections only to very affluent customers who were expected to spend the post-Christmas/New Year's weeks in warm-weather...
included Jean Patou
Jean Patou
- Early life :Patou was born in Normandy, France in 1880. Patou's family's business was tanning and furs. Patou worked with his uncle in Normandy, then moved to Paris in 1910, intent on becoming a couturier.-1910s - World War I and later:...
and Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators...
. In contrast to the flexibility of American sportswear, these expensive couture garments were prescribed to be worn in very specific circumstances.
1930–1970
The precursors of true sportswear emerged in New York before the Second World War. 1930s designers such as Clare PotterClare Potter
Clare Potter was a fashion designer who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1903. In the 1930s she was one of the first American fashion designers to be promoted as an individual design talent. She has been credited as one of the inventors of American sportswear. Based in Manhattan, she...
and Claire McCardell
Claire McCardell
Claire McCardell was an American fashion designer in the arena of ready-to-wear clothing in the 20th century. From the 1930s to the 1950s, she was known for designing functional, affordable, and stylish women’s sportswear within the constraints of mass-production, and is today acknowledged as the...
were among the first American designers to gain name recognition through their innovative clothing designs. Richard Martin
Richard Martin (curator)
Richard Martin was a scholar, lecturer, critic and curator, and a leading art and fashion historian. At the time of his death he was curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, creating many critically acclaimed exhibitions and contributing widely towards publications on...
described these designers as aiming to produce clothes demonstrating "problem-solving ingenuity and realistic lifestyle applications". McCardell has been called America's greatest sportswear designer. Her simple, practical clothes suited the relaxed American dress code, neither formal nor informal, that became established during the 1930s and 1940s. Sportswear uses elements of sporty informal or casual wear such as Clare Potter's innovative evening sweater and evening skirt draped like a sidesaddle
Sidesaddle
Sidesaddle riding is a form of Equestrianism that uses a type of saddle which allows a rider to sit aside rather than astride a horse, mule or pony. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ages as a way for women in skirts to ride a horse in a modest...
riding habit.
Many of the first sportswear designers were women. A common argument was that female designers projected their personal values into this new style. In the 1930s and 40s, it was rare for clothing to be justified through its practicableness. It was traditionally thought that Paris fashion exemplified beauty, and therefore, sportswear required different criteria for assessment. The designer's personal life was therefore linked to their sportswear designs. Another selling point was sportswear's popularity with consumers, with department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
representatives such as Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
using sales figures to back up their claims. Martin credits the 1930s and 40s sportswear designers with freeing American fashion from the need to copy Paris couture. Where Paris fashion was traditionally imposed onto the customer regardless of her wishes, American sportswear was democratic, widely available, and encouraged self-expression. The early sportswear designers proved that the creation of original ready-to-wear fashion could be a legitimate design art which responded stylishly to utiliarian requirements.
1970–2000
In the 1970s Geoffrey BeeneGeoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene was an American fashion designer.Beene was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. He studied medicine at Tulane University, but dropped out in 1946, after three years. He moved to New York in 1947 to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion...
, one of the first significant male sportswear designers, incorporated elements of menswear into his relaxed women's clothing. His fondness for layering garments and menswear elements are widely used by early 21st century industry designers. Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 60 countries. He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997...
, who set up his own-name label in 1986, is renowned for layered informality in both day and luxurious evening wear. Late 20th century sportswear greats include the industry empires of Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
, Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
, Donna Karan
Donna Karan
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.-Early life:...
, and Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
, each of whom created distinctive wardrobes for the American woman based upon stylish but wearable, comfortable and interchangeable multi-purpose clothes that combined practicability with luxuriousness. Most early 21st century sportswear design follows in the footsteps of these designers.
Alongside Jacobs, other notable 1980s and 1990s sportswear designers include Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi is an American TV presenter, fashion designer, and was the creative director of Liz Claiborne. He is best known for his eponymous fashion lines.-Early life:...
, who presented his first collection in 1987. The original Isaac Mizrahi label closed in 1998, and Mizrahi subsequently designed a womenswear diffusion collection for Target from 2002 to 2008.
21st century sportswear
In 2000, the Lifestyle Monitor, an American trade magazine owned by Cotton IncorporatedCotton Incorporated
Cotton Incorporated aims "To increase the demand for and profitability of cotton through research and promotion." and "To ensure that cotton remains the first choice among consumers in apparel and home products." The organization is funded by cotton growers in the United States through per-bale...
published that their surveys showed that an average of 64% of women interviewed preferred casual wear, including sportswear as distinct from active wear
Sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....
.
Notable New York sportswear designers of the 21st century include Zac Posen
Zac Posen
- Early life :Posen was raised in the SoHo neighborhood of lower Manhattan, the son of artist Stephen Posen and corporate lawyer Susan Posen. His interest in fashion design started early, and as a child he would steal yarmulkes from his grandparents' synagogue to make ball dresses for dolls...
, Proenza Schouler
Proenza Schouler
Proenza Schouler is a New York based womenswear and accessories brand founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. The duo met while studying at Parsons School of Design, collaborating on their senior thesis, which would eventually become their first collection as Proenza...
, Mary Ping
Mary Ping
Mary Ping is an American fashion designer based in New York.She studied fine art at Vassar College, graduating in 2000. The following year, aged 23, she launched her label...
, Derek Lam
Derek Lam
Derek Lam is an American fashion designer. He was born in San Francisco, California and is of Chinese American parentage. Lam is the youngest of three children in his fourth-generation family. His parents had a business that imported clothes from Asia, and his grandparents ran a successful garment...
, and Behnaz Sarafpour
Behnaz Sarafpour
Behnaz Sarafpour is a New York City-based designer who introduced a line of women's apparel bearing her name in 2001.She attended Parsons School of Design, where she was honored with the Golden Thimble Award, and has held design positions at Isaac Mizrahi, Narciso Rodriguez, Richard Tyler, Anne...
, who were all featured in the Sportswear section of the Victoria & Albert Museum's New York Fashion Now exhibition in 2007.
Other notable sportswear designers
Many 20th and 21st century designers work, or have worked in the sportswear tradition. Some of the most influential American sportswear designers not mentioned above include:- Tom Brigance
- Bonnie CashinBonnie CashinBonnie Cashin is considered one of the most significant pioneers of designer ready-to-wear, more commonly called sportswear, in America. Among the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful designers of the 20th century, Cashin was revered for her intellectual, artistic, and...
- Perry EllisPerry EllisPerry Ellis was an American fashion designer who founded a sportswear house in the mid-1970s.-The rise of Perry Ellis:...
- Anne Fogarty
- Roy Halston Frowick
- Elizabeth HawesElizabeth HawesElizabeth Hawes was an American clothing designer, outspoken critic of the fashion industry, and champion of ready to wear and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than the clothes dictated to be fashionable...
- Norma KamaliNorma KamaliNorma Kamali is a New York-based fashion designer born in 1945. She is best known for the "sleeping bag" coat, "parachute pants" made from silk parachutes, and versatile multi-use pieces. She designed the red one-piece bathing suit worn by Farah Fawcett in the iconic 1976 Charlie's Angels poster....
- Tina Leser
- Vera MaxwellVera MaxwellVera Huppe Maxwell was a legendary sportswear and fashion designer until her retirement in 1985.She was the first American designer to make clothes with Ultrasuede material...
- Carolyn Schnurer
- Isabel ToledoIsabel ToledoIsabel Toledo is a Cuban-American fashion designer based in New York.-Personal life:Isabel Toledo was born in Cuba and moved to New Jersey where she attended high school and met her future husband and collaborator, Ruben Toledo...
- Diane Von Furstenburg
- Sydney Wragge
Sportswear outside the United States
In the late 1940s and 1950s non-American designers began to pay attention to sportswear, and attempted to produce collections following its principle. French couturiers such as DiorChristian Dior SA
Christian Dior S.A. is a French company which owns the high-fashion clothing producer and retailer Christian Dior Couture, as well as holding 42% of LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods firm. Both Dior and LVMH are controlled and chaired by businessman Bernard...
and Jacques Fath
Jacques Fath
Jacques Fath was a French fashion designer who was considered one of the three dominant influences on postwar haute couture, the others being Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain.-Career:The son of André Fath, an Alsatian-Flemish insurance agent, Fath came from a creative family...
simplified their designs for ready-to-wear production, but at first only the Italian designers understood the sportswear principle. Designers such as Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci, Marquis of Barsento , was a Florentine Italian fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company are synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colours.-Early life:...
and Simonetta Visconti grasped that there was a market for clothing that combined sophistication and comfort.
Italy had a reputation for fine fabrics and excellent workmanship, and the emergence of high quality Italian ready-to-wear that combined this luxury with the casual quality of American sportswear ensured the worldwide success of Italian fashion by the mid-1970s. This was a challenge to the American industry. John Fairchild, the outspoken publisher of Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
opined:
-
- "The Italians were the first to make refined sportswear. [...] Americans don't mind spending if the sweater is by KriziaKriziaKrizia is a manufacturer and designer of handbags and clothes, founded by Mariuccia Mandelli in 1950 in Bergamo, Italy.Various Krizia labels are created every year like menswear, knitwear, handbags, and perfume...
or MissoniMissoniMissoni is an Italian fashion house based in Varese. It is famous for its unique knitwear, made from a variety of fabrics in colourful patterns. The company was founded by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in 1953.-Brands:...
."
- "The Italians were the first to make refined sportswear. [...] Americans don't mind spending if the sweater is by Krizia
In the 21st century Italian fashion remains a leading source for sportswear design outside the United States. Narciso Rodriguez
Narciso Rodriguez
Narciso Rodriguez III is an American fashion designer.Rodriguez is the first child and only son of Cuban parents Narciso Rodríguez II, a longshoreman, and Rawedia María Rodríguez who are of Canarian descent. He grew up in Newark, New Jersey. His parents were against Narciso entering fashion: "They...
, who is known for streamlined and pared down clothing, launched in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in 1997, but moved to New York in 2001. Miuccia Prada
Miuccia Prada
Miuccia Prada is an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur. She also has a Ph.D. in Political Science.Prada was born in Milan, the youngest granddaughter of Mario Prada, founder of the company. According to: Forbes.com's The World's Richest People 2001: "She and her husband, Patrizio Bertelli,...
revived the fortunes of her family company Prada
Prada
Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...
with her top-quality sportswear designs in the 1990s, and continues designing for the firm.
External links
- Sportswear Chic on the Victoria & Albert Museum website.