The fashion Olympics: A look back at the sportiest clothes on the runways (2024)

From breakdancing to wrestling, the Paris Olympics will highlight 45 different types of sporting events, and to get in the mood we’re glancing back at some of the most athletic looks that have walked down the runways. Back in 2019, Virgil Abloh used Sha’Carri Richardson’s event of choice—track and field—as the foundation for his Off-White show. More recently Marine Serre honored many Olympic sports in her spring 2023 menswear collection. And who can forget the surfboards and skateboards that have turned up at Thom Browne and Chanel? Push off below to catch the runway’s sportiest looks.

Football

Blokecore, a clever blend of 1990s British pub culture and the style of fans lining the stands at football matches, is gaining ground. And it's all thanks to TikToker Brandon Huntley, who launched the hashtag #blokecore on social networks in 2020. Since then, millions of Internet users have been showing off their football-inspired outfits. This phenomenon hasn't gone unnoticed in the fashion world, with numerous brands and houses drawing inspiration from the trend, such as Moschino, which unveiled designs embellished with footballs, or Balenciaga and Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton, who have reworked the jersey. A trend that's scoring high!

Tennis

Tennis is trending more than ever in 2024, a craze that can be explained in part by the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but also thanks to the success of Luca Guadagnino's film Challengers, which stars Zendaya as a former pro tennis player. This obsession has grown throughout the film's promotion, with the actress frequently drawing inspiration from the sport on red carpets worldwide. One of the standout fashion moments was her star-studded appearance in Rome, wearing Loewe shoes, with each heel pierced by a tennis ball. However, fashion houses and designers didn't wait for the "Challengers" craze to showcase their tennis-inspired creations. Examples include Miu Miu's pleated micro-skirt from the Fall/Winter 2022-2023 collection, the ensemble presented at Hermès' spring-summer 2010 show, and the outfits from Lacoste's spring-summer 2022 collection.

Athleisure

In 2019, Virgil Abloh unveiled an Off-White Spring/Summer 2019 collection featuring athleisure influences, highlighting his collaboration with Nike. While Cara Delevingne and Alessandra Ambrosio were the stars of the front row, the spotlight quickly turned to the athletes who came from the four corners of the globe to unveil the designer's 100% sporty models. Vashti Cunningham, English Gardner, Rénelle Lamote were among the many athletes featured, with creations inspired by athletics practices. Similar inspirations were seen on the runways of Chanel's Spring/Summer 2010 and Marine Serre's Spring/Summer 2023 shows. Even celebrities and trendsetters have embraced the trend, like Camille Charrière, who swears by sports shorts, perfect for coping with the summer heat (and boosting her fashion quotient).

Skateboard

In the 2000s, he was (and probably still is) the fantasy of many young teenage girls. With his irresistible effortless look and carefully disheveled style, the skateboarder is taking pride of place in the collections of fashion houses and designers. Could this be related to the craze surrounding y2k trends? Probably. In Milan 2023, JW Anderson delivered a subversive collection inspired by the 1990s, with pieces that transform and challenge our perceptions of clothing, reminding us of the fleeting nature of all that is new. The result was broken skateboard decks embedded directly into several sweaters. Over the years, other houses have demonstrated that skateboarding is a real phenomenon, such as Fendi, Louis Vuitton and Ashish.

Surf

A style straight off the beaches of Venice Beach or Santa Monica in California. Far from its athletic aspect, surfing has been inspiring fashion for several decades. We remember the Chanel Spring/Summer 1991 show, where models were invited to walk the runway with a surfboard under their arm, or the Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2017 collection, for which the designer also unveiled boards emblazoned with his signature blue, white and red. For Spring/Summer 2024, fashion houses and high-profile brands continue to ride the coolest trend of the season. Miu Miu, for example, presented a beachwear-inspired show for spring-summer 2024 with pieces that make you want to catch a wave…

Swimming

Swimwear is becoming more and more prominent on the runways of summer fashion weeks. While some designers like Jacquemus offer colorful bikinis with a high fashion quotient, others like Nina Ricci focus on the practice of swimming and diving, featuring a neoprene swimsuit model.

Rugby

This year, it seems that the Rugby World Cup, held in France from September 8 to October 28, along with the film Saltburn featuring Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan wearing striped polos, has sparked interest in rugby uniforms within the fashion world and among trendsetters. For the perfect rugbycore look, it's all about the striped polo shirt. This style has been seen on the runways of many shows this season, including Dries Van Noten, who unveiled an oversized version; Dsquared, which gave it Y2K influences; and JW Anderson, with a more tempered approach. The key lies in the choice of colors: the more vibrant the hues, the more it establishes itself as a fashion statement piece.

This article was preciously published on Vogue.com

Translated by Natasha Hersman