Once again this year, IFA Paris took part in the largest international multi-sector trade fair for the sports industry, ISPO Munich with two of its’ Bachelor Fashion Design & Technology students. Masterclasses with expert designers facilitated discussions and multidisciplinary collaborations around the major unifying themes of the fashion industry’s current events. Sportswear now integrates a strong culture of sustainable development, ever more creativity and innovation, three levers that appeal to consumers and do not leave the luxury industry indifferent…
Sport and luxury, two worlds that everything seemed to oppose but that have never been so complementary! For many years reserved for the practice of popular disciplines, sportswear breathes a wind of modernity and an unusual creative potential into the world of premium clothing.
IFA Paris Bachelor Fashion Design student Lina Adane from France (right)
Although its DNA is borrowed from traditions and craftsmanship, luxury is rethinking its identity in order to adapt to a new customer profile, generations Y and Z. Millennial generation, a singular generation. In perpetual search for novelty, exclusivity or technology, this fringe of the population pushes the luxury brands to multiply collaborations with equipment manufacturers, to renew and innovate, while respecting the historical codes that have made its success.
This blend of genres offers a new way of looking at things, free from the rather uncomfortable diktats of luxury. Details remain refined by integrating all the technicalities of sportswear into these looks, and by giving priority to a more urban fashion, better adapted to everyday activities.
More than a fleeting red carpet trend, sportswear is a real social phenomenon. This is particularly the case of the sneaker. The models, renewed with each collection, preserve the notion of rarity that is essential to the statutory position of a luxury product. And as commercial success is on the agenda, examples of fusion between equipment manufacturers and luxury are constantly multiplying!
Balmain and Puma offer a unisex capsule collection inspired by boxing clothes (shoes, clothing, accessories) while Le Coq sportif and Guerlain focus on the tuxedo trend, with a sportswear piece that pays homage to “La Petite Robe Noire”, Guerlain’s iconic model. Prada and Adidas are not left out; a duo comprising a pair of sneakers (the Prada Adidas Superstar) and a bowling bag have been created with the two brands’ respective logos highlighted.
The luxury/sport combo is selling. Boosted by a cooler lifestyle, the media coverage of sporting events and the growing popularity of sportsmen and women, the sporty chic style is still making us go shopping!