Miami’s 27th year Sony Ericsson open on Sunday had spectators fighting to stay cool under the blistering sun as the players brought their vision of fashion to the courts. There was no question that tennis active wear has evolved since 1890; when Wimbledon imposed a strict white only on the court rule. In those days, as an elite sport, players wanted to “look good” and white became the staple color because it camouflaged sweat. Nowadays, brands like Fila, Adidas and Nike continuously work to perfect “performance wear” through their innovation of high-tech materials such as: Invista Lycra, Clima 365 and Dri-fit all of which; absorb, hide, whisk away and cool sweat.
Nevertheless, tennis white is not a thing of the past, as clearly seen inside the Sony Erricson pop up tents. Instead, designers have taken this tradition to the next level, by keeping “white” modern and up-to-date. Stella McCartney for Adidas exemplified this through a more streamlined dress updated with a pleated ruffled collar. Fila’s collection used turquoise, navy, lime green piping, and color blocking to modernize their white silhouettes. Fila also offered a red tank and navy tee to benefit Japan’s relief efforts. Another popular trend to keep in tennis activewear is shorter skirts and sleeveless tops. Sport bags were quilted with logos. Hats, visors and totebags sported contrast trims.
On the courts, players adopted stylish and sleek tennis looks including the bright coral top worn by fourth ranking, Francesca Schiavone, coordinated turquoise accents worn by Kim Clijsters number two women’s rank. The Fading stripe polo by K.Swiss seen worn by Mardy Fish toyed with the cameras eyes because of a 3D dot print. Richard Gasquet kept it crisp with a oversized crocodile appliquéd Lacoste red polo. The ball crew wore this years color green and black trimmed uniform sponsored by Fila.
So there you have it the world of fashion and tennis continues to stay on “match point” with our contemporary world, even amongst one of the world’s most traditional sports. You can check it out for yourself through next Sunday, April 3, 2011.
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