Mhe upcoming Super Bowl is probably the biggest sporting event in the USA. Basketball player LeBron James recently made a name for himself when he broke the NBA point record. But for some time now, the enthusiasm for athletes has extended beyond their ability. The fashionable staging seems to be the ball art of social media: The looks of the athletes off the field are increasingly coming into focus.
During this year’s men’s fashion week in Paris, FC Bayern player Serge Gnabry was seen attending a number of fashion shows. On his Instagram account, Gnabry regularly shows himself in fashionable luxury gear between the training ground and playing success: Gucci down vest with baggy jeans in one moment, leather jacket and Prada sunglasses with a silk scarf in the other. The photos could have come from a fashion shoot in a glossy magazine.
On the other hand, more than 20 years ago, designers recognized the advantages of sportswear and its influence on the understanding of fashion. As the former wroteNew York TimesEditor Constance CR White 1999: “Designers looking to the future are being inspired by the detail and functionality of apparel for snowboarding, skiing, motorcycle racing and fitness in general.”
The men’s fashion shows for autumn 1999 made it clear that “designers have found a deep well of ideas for the turn of the century in sport. The sporty element in fashion promises to be much more than an annual trend; no doubt the fashion of the year 2000 will also be full of allusions to it.” A prophecy that has come true. In 2021, the athleisure market was worth more than $400 billion in the US alone, and counting.
Sporting trailblazers
One of the first athletes who attracted attention not only because of his achievements was NBA player Dennis Rodman. He played alongside Michael Jordan for the Chicago Bulls from 1995 to 1998 and dated Madonna for two months in 1994. Reporters speculated on how he would wear his hair at the next game, as Rodman dyed his hair bright colors and wore fancy patterns.
Incidentally, the hair of German basketball player Dennis Schröder, who plays for the LA Lakers, also became a unique selling point. For many years he only bleached one part of his hair. Supposedly his mother would have advised him to attract attention. A piece of advice that he still takes to heart today, except that the blond spot is different today.
Back to Rodman: Because in the 90s he already wore tight, crop tops, nail polish, eye-catching jewelry such as choker chains or around 1996 a wedding dress for the book signing of his memoirs “Bad As I Wanna Be” – he claimed to be himself to marry. Rodman became an icon and a figurehead for swanky brands like Von Dutch and Ed Hardy. In doing so, he paved the way for other athletes to get out of the jersey and into pop culture.
A balance that NBA player Kyle Kuzma also seems to favor. He plays for the Washington Wizards. Kuzma presents himself on Instagram in similarly exciting outfits as Rodman did at the time. There he shares photos of himself in action on the ball – in between his “#ootd”, i.e. “Outfit of the day”.
On his way to training, the 2.06 meter man is regularly photographed in thoughtful looks, which are a composition of the stylist Toreno Winn Jr. Sometimes in a Burberry trench coat, with a Birkin bag from Hermès or with Prada platform loafers with black and white patterned pants – the top short enough to see the Versace underpants flashing out.
Other photos are tantamount to an ad, such as him holding a Giorgio Armani perfume bottle perfectly aligned for the camera, along with a Prada bucket hat, Rick Owens shoes and the hashtag #Armanibeautypartner.
In 2021, Kuzma drew amused comments after wearing an oversized pink Raf Simmons sweater – like a child in an adult’s sweater, the sleeves hung no more than half a meter off the ground. “You grow in there” or “That’s why I don’t like the button,” wrote Instagram users under the picture.
However, in January 2023, Kuzma’s viral outfit made a comeback when the Wizards released a bobble-head doll of it: the ironically oversized sweater, white sneakers by Amiri, with a white bucket hat that reveals the ears, and black pants by Rick Owens. The doll was a gift to the first 10,000 fans who attended the Wizards vs. New York Knicks game in mid-January.
A new generation of luxury consumers
Athletes, rappers and influencers are the it boys of the 21st century. For many youngsters, they become role models precisely because they are able to put together thousands of dollars worth of outfits. Because social media makes them seem approachable – your own dream of fame and fortune seems so much more tangible when you see how someone else from the bottom has made it. Watches, rare sneakers, iced-out jewelry are becoming the hallmark of a new generation of luxury consumers, as is flaunting them.
Stephen Curry, on the other hand, is regarded as a rather modest appearance. The basketball player is more familiar with casual street style looks, you rarely see clear luxury logos on him – only those who know their way around will spot Rick Owens sneakers, for example. Still, the golden state warrior does acknowledge the relevance of fashion. During the 2022 NBA Finals, Curry showed off pre-game photographers in designs by independent black designers to support them. And with the sportswear brand Under Armour, he has also designed his own collection.
But Curry isn’t the first athlete to partner with sports brands. With Michael Jordan, Nike created what is probably the most sought-after sneaker of all time: the Air Jordan. And the late basketball player Kobe Bryant also released several basketball shoes with Nike.
Sneakers are also a trademark of former NFL player Victor Cruz. in one Interview from 2016 he talked about his sneaker collection, he owned around 800 pairs at the time. In late 2022, to celebrate Nike’s 50th anniversary, he curated a selection of his personal favorite sneakers to be auctioned at Sotheby’s. “Sneakers are a personal expression,” Cruz said in a statement from the auction house at the time.
It is therefore not surprising that the former New York Giants player coordinates his outfits primarily with his sneakers: he uses simple silhouettes with eye-catching elements such as lavish necklaces – the more, the better – or patterns and prints, preferably on bowling -Shirts, against.
Russell Westbrook, who recently joined the Utah Jazz from the LA Lakers, made a fashion statement in 2021 in a long white skirt and cardigan by Thom Brown. Likewise in 2022, when he wore a suit, skirt and top hat on the Met Gala red carpet. Westbrook impressed with it, even if he was neither the first nor the last man to show himself publicly in such trousers. Curt Cobain wore a dress in the 90s, Vin Diesel attended the MTV Europe Music Awards in a black leather skirt in 2003 and Brad Pitt wore a skirt to a film premiere in Berlin in 2022.
Westbrook’s performance was special, after all, he questioned the construct of masculinity in sport. The basketball player’s other fashionable features include the regular breaks in style, for example when he wears chucks with suit trousers and a sweater, plus an oversized golden curb chain and a bandana tied into a hairband. In 2018 he dressed in denim from head to toe, even his sneakers – Air Jordan 4 in cooperation with Levi’s – were made of jeans.
Odell Beckham Jr., football player for the LA Rams, also made a statement with a black kilt, which he wore with a shirt and jacket (both sleeveless) to the Met Gala in 2019. Beckham presents himself on Instagram with many jewels on watches, rings or grills.
Today, athletes in the NBA and NFL professional leagues are among the highest earning athletes in the world. In the US alone, around 99 million people watched the Super Bowl last year. This year, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will face off in the finals. But the great interest is not only in the tackles and touchdowns – the halftime show is a regular highlight of the event. Singer Rihanna will take over the stage and at least there you can look forward to exciting outfits.