Sport and the world of fashion enjoy a relationship like no other. Over the decades, we’ve repeatedly seen the cutting-edge styles in many sports influence both the way we dress and the leading catwalk styles of the day. But which sport is the most fashionable on the planet?
There are certainly many considerations to take when considering which sport is the most fashionable.
In the above chart based on which sport is the most popular in each country, we can see that football, or soccer, is the world’s favorite sport. Logically, this indicates that football would have the biggest influence over more people and thus more leverage in shaping fashion trends.
However, football’s influence on fashion has been an uneasy one, with very little football wear being adopted in the fashion industry.
Sports like football and fashion have failed to see eye to eye. One reason for this could be that the sport is simply ‘too’ popular. While we often see fans wearing football shirts all around the world, they rarely carry that all-important wow factor.
This may also be the reason why retro football shirts seem to cause the biggest stir when it comes to fashion–like when Kim Kardashian raised eyebrows by wearing a 1997-98 season AS Roma shirt recently. Retro shirts bring more scarcity, and in a fashion industry where individuality is everything, mainstream sports simply won’t do.
The Honorable Mention of Style-Centric Sports
There are also sports that are intrinsically linked to the world of style and fashion which deserve an honorable mention.
The stars of sporty style include surfing and motor racing, where surfers and racing drivers are almost always toeing the line between practicality and coolness.
The world of Formula 1 is so intrinsically linked to the fashion industry that many drivers have built up deals to represent designers when on and off the racetrack.
Many manufacturers have also struck deals with eyewear designers to ensure that their drivers are always looking their best when it comes to representing their respective firms.
Surfing is a sport that’s so cool that we’ve seen the rise of ‘surfwear’ become synonymous with summer fashion trends–even for wearers who don’t have a beach to visit for hundreds of miles.
Typically associated with Hawaiian patterns and bright colors, surfwear illustrates that if a sport is cool enough, it can prompt its own fashion revolution. But despite surfing’s close ties with the fashion industry, it’s still not fashionable enough to be the world’s most stylish sport.
The Rise and Rise of Tennis Fashion
When it comes to style, there’s no bigger influencer than tennis. The mark that tennis has left on global fashion is immeasurable. From the wildly popular range of tennis shoes that dominate popular culture to collared shirts, flowing skirts, visors, sweatbands, and sweaters, tennis fashion is everywhere–and with good reason, too.
Alongside the ever-popular range of tennis clothing are its leading athletes, and both male and female tennis players are continuing to make their mark on both the world of sport and fashion alike.
Stars like Roger Federer and Serena Williams are continually starring on cover shoots and influencing fans all over the world in the way they dress and style their wardrobes.
Tennis is also constantly evolving, and icons like Serena Williams have famously never been afraid to bring her style onto the court. From multicolored catsuits to diamond-encrusted bracelets and ballerina outfits, tennis is full of expression and flair.
Off the court, stars are still big business. Leading names in fashion have constantly sought out the biggest names in tennis to help bring out the best in their products.
The tennis icons of tomorrow are already helping to influence the future of fashion, with British star Emma Raducanu becoming the new face of Tiffany & Co in 2021. The deal will see Raducanu wearing Tiffany’s iconic range of jewelry as well as eyewear that many fans will undoubtedly shop online to capture the style of one of the worlds most up and coming talents.
Our favorite sports around the world have long been a way of keeping in touch with leading fashion lines and emerging styles. While tennis stands as the most fashionable sport on the planet, we can see all kinds of activewear entering our daily lives that carry inspiration from different activities.
With this in mind, if you’re interested in knowing what the fashion of tomorrow will look like, it may be worth checking out what our star athletes are wearing today.
