First steps, clumsy ones
After I couldn’t get my head around the project after the Germany trip, I thought that a thorough research might help me find answers, but what actually happened was I found myself not being able to ask the right questions.
A few days of constant research resulted in something like a scheme, not even a moodboard, which served me as a starting point for my actual research. I am well aware that I cannot impress Adidas with functionality – the technology they use has been developed over years of hard work, so what I have left is originality in the way the outfit looks.
For this project, I decided to work with my sister – something we have never done before, so it was a mutual agreement to concentrate on doubles – what we used to play a lot as kids. One thing we were both absolutely convinced of from the start is that we wanted to keep some of the classical feel of tennis apparel so that the play looks beautiful. Although the sportswear industry is currently trying to introduce this highly technological appearance of garments, I thought it would be better to create functional outfits without making them look too functional and futuristic – it can all be really subtle and clean. The real question is how do I design a classical outfit that is not standard.
As a start, I tried to question everything that people take for granted when it comes to tennis apparel – polo shirts, short sleeves, two parts, stripes, length.
I had to spend a few days designing in order to get closer to what I actually wanted by sticking to a few principles I was determined to follow in the course of my work – I had decided to keep it simple, bring some of my artwork in it, question the key features of tennis apparel, keep some of the classical elements and, of course, the ball pocket.
In the meantime, it became clear that I was the person to do menswear, whereas my sister would work on the female outfit. Trying to escape from the classic silhouette, I found a nice brand, called Monsieur Lacenaire. Looking at their photoshoots made it clear to me that I wanted a really relaxed and happy feel about the outfits, rather than the usual serious elegant style.
That led to another key concept we both considered, which is to create clothing that would look as if players were dancing on the court – something like a cross between tennis and high school ball.
What came out at the end was I got rid of some of the key features and at the moment it does and does not look like tennis apparel, but I find it really original and it looks really good with the female outfit.
Eventually, I replaced the polo collar with a turtleneck and dropped the sleeves to just above the elbows, moved the hemline down to the hips and designed openings for freedom of movement. Bringing in my artwork was a bit of a problem, but eventually, it ended up as a print and lasercut details on the back.
This way I can keep the functionality and elegance of the outfit but also introduce something fresh into the classic silhouette.
After two weeks of attempts to reach the CSM Tennis society, I finally managed to contact the president and my sister and I are currently working with them to provide us with some support in terms of functionality and comfort of the outfits we create.
Image sources: monsieurlacenaire.com, www.vogue.com