Designers at Vogue World dish on fashion’s sports obsession

Ludovic de Saint Sernin will stay in town, too. “I have got a collection to make so I’ll stay here,” he says. “My mom got tickets for Olympics competitions and I might join.” Cadwallader, however, plans to leave: “We moved our vacation earlier this year, that’s good because we have a longer run before the show in September.”

Designers are factoring in sports inspiration to their collections. “I like the technical performance of sportswear. When I design a collection, I try to apply the same level of ease to everyday [clothes],” says Louise Trotter, creative director of Carven, who is an active cyclist and tennis player.

Serre’s custom look for Venus Williams was made from repurposed tennis bags. “In my shows and campaigns, I always feature many athletes. Sports are important. It’s important to take care of your body, it allows you to live and create. I have a sports mentality I inherited from my childhood [she played a lot of tennis when younger]. A designer is a marathon runner, not a sprinter,” Serre says.

With the Olympics come opportunities too. “We might dress one or two people,” says Arnaud Vaillant, one half of the Coperni duo with Sébastien Meyer. They have had a collaboration with Puma for three years. “We worked with their innovation team and Sébastien went to Vietnam to make the mould for the shoes.”

Lacoste created 30 looks for athletes at Vogue World and four silhouettes for the runway show. “Sport and fashion are intricate. They’re a flirtation between the two,” says Lacoste creative director Pelagia Kolotouros. Lacoste just released an “Olympic heritage” capsule collection paying tribute to the Paris 1924 Olympics. “We’ll probably see a trickle-down effect [of the Paris 2024 Olympics on the collections] in September. I think it’s on everybody’s mind.”

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