Fashion may not be known for its inclusivity, but it’s a broad church and more than willing to giving almost any theme a whirl. And there was an eclectic mix of sportswear and near-couture pieces on the catwalks for spring/summer 2011 that reflected
Fashion may not be known for its inclusivity, but it’s a broad church and more than willing to giving almost any theme a whirl. And there was an eclectic mix of sportswear and near-couture pieces on the catwalks for spring/summer 2011 that reflected this, although not in a high-vis jacket sort of way.
Unstructured anoraks and thin summer parkas were layered over full length sack dresses that were reminiscent of a debutante’s ball at the Jil Sander show, where designer Raf Simons also paired long sheath skirts in an array of juicy and vivid colours with simple white cotton T-shirts. Sport for all, as they say.
Fashion’s relationship with sportswear is a tricky one – to the uninitiated, the word summons visions of tracksuit bottoms, thermo-sweat lycras and towelling bands; in fashionable spheres, the term can refer to the most elegant of jersey dresses and trichot separates. It’s easy to forget that Coco Chanel’s early daywear designs were referred to as “sportswear”.
Put simply, it’s anything that isn’t tailored, anything that isn’t encrusted with millions of sequins, jewels or feather, anything not embellished by the petits mains at Lesage. And it’s more than possible to dress in sportswear without looking like a beach bum.
It was born in the 20s, thanks of course to Chanel, but gained notoriety under the umbrella term of American Sportswear, as designed by luminaries such as Claire McCardell, Vera Maxwell and Tina Leser. They created non-restrictive casualwear from inexpensive and easily manufactured materials that were suitable for the modern woman as contemporary society perceived her – skirt suits could be worn to work or to lunch; denim popovers were a utilitarian uniform as well as a kitchen apron.
The alternative – and antithesis – to sportswear, the mass-produced trend of its day, was couture, bespoke pieces designed and created in exclusive ateliers. Sports-couture is the modern point at which the two disciplines meet, and it abounded this season.
Dries van Noten also paired austere shirt dresses with loosely slung functional jackets to produce a clashing but increasingly current street look, while Nicolas Ghesquiere plundered the Balenciaga archives and revived houndstooth check (a traditional couture staple if ever there were one) by way of sequins, bold black and red, and warped, zoom lens angles – all atop purposefully ill-fitting and anti-establishment oversized leather coats.
Sports-couture has at its root the same principles behind the rise of “streetwear” in the 80s, born from an amalgam of what designers had previously offered and what was being worn by real people. Fashion at the moment is in the velocity-gaining return swoop of the pendulum arc from austerity and practicality: consumers want fantasy, but one they can believe in. Ergo, they’ll be wearing their princess dresses under a parka and their fairytale gowns with football boots.
Text by Harriet Walker
Zoë Taylor has appeared in Le Gun, Bare Bones, Ambit and Dazed & Confused. She is currently working on her third graphic novella and an exhibition.
