The symbiotic relationship between sports and fashion exists from the catwalk to the sidewalk

By: Christina Flores-Chan

Pause the pre-game show.

Toronto Maple Leaf rookies and future dynamic duo Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are strutting down a hallway at Scotiabank Arena sporting matching fedora hats atop their suits in December 2016. A live camera pans as they pass by.

The following day, it’s the topic of discussion at Sportsnet’s Hockey Central. It’s also trending on Canadian Twitter. Even GTA-born Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos has something to say about it.

In an interview two years later, when Matthews is asked about his now-famous formal fashion sense, he tells the reporter, “I don’t mind at all wearing a suit. I actually kind of like it.”

It’s early 2020, and the tennis skirt is the moment. It’s a white, pleated mini piece and luxury brands to fast fashion retailers are all putting their own spin on it. The skirt is sold in stores from Lacoste to Garage. Subsequently, tennis participation increases by 22 per cent that year, while consumption of professional tennis rose significantly in 2021 with young women athletes like Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu paving the way for the sport.

Earlier this season, NBA star Russell Westbrook shows up to New York Fashion Week wearing an off-white, maxi-length kilt to the Thom Browne show. The news runs in GQ the next day, giving the designer ample exposure to audiences outside of luxury fashion.

Fashion is rooted in sport in the way that fashion is rooted in everyday life. Sport is a social product of the world around it, including the clothes we dress ourselves in before we step out into society every morning. And yet, this phenomenon often gets slipped under the rug, unspoken but far from going unnoticed.

We can see it in the way that OVO partners with the Toronto Raptors for exclusive jersey designs, or how we set alarms for Air Jordan sneaker drops even if we don’t play basketball, or in esteemed American sportscaster Erin Andrews’s NFL and NHL-based clothing line.

Fans pay attention to what their favourite athletes are wearing, and so do designers and clothing brands. The niche competitive advantage of style based around sports contributes to both the fashion industry and the world of professional sports.

Take the BOSS X NBA limited edition collection for example. A basketball fan may not regularly walk into Harry Rosen to purchase a Hugo Boss turtleneck for almost $200, but they might look at it differently if it has the NBA logo on the collar. Conversely, someone who doesn’t watch professional sports might feel inclined to educate themselves on a team once they realize their favourite dad cap with the Yankees logo front and centre represents a New York baseball team logo and not just a cute graphic design.

Working as a symbiotic relationship, the partnership between the two industries keeps consumers rooting for their favourite athletes and teams while investing in merchandise to show their support at the same time.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying fashion in sports as a consumer, being aware of what it is and deciding to embrace it as a symbol of expression anyway.

If a person loves a team and what they stand for, whether it be a community they enjoy partaking in or the unity the franchise brings to their city, then they should be proud to rock that Buffalo Bills logo on their jacket.

I, in turn, will wear my luxury clothing to work at sporting events with no shame. Because what is the harm in dressing for style in an industry so propelled by fashion anyway?