BREAKING A SWEAT

With the Paris Olympics kickstarting this month, the second half of the year promises to catapult sports into a sartorialist

- PRATIKSHA ACHARYA

We are officially halfway through 2024, and the second half of the year promises to be one for the ages, with the quadrennial Olympic Games back again, this time in the French capital of Paris. As the city gears up to host what is undoubtedly the biggest sporting event across the globe (barring FIFA World Cup), it’s no surprise that luxury fashion houses are putting their money where their mouth is: On inimitable sportstars as the countdown to the games begins.

The Olympics is held over 17 days with over 329 events across 32 events, and if our math is mathing, that gives the athletes 329 occasions to make a staunch fashion statement, excluding the opening and closing ceremonies of the games, which are famously known for contingent uniforms that are usually created by legacy fashion houses. Take, for example, Team France’s looks for the opening ceremony of the games, which are being designed by Berluti. Featuring custom-tailored tuxedos in the country’s colours, the outfit makes for the perfect mix of patriotism and gender-fluid silhouettes that look flattering on all. This is, of course, preceding Team USA’s memorable outing in preppy Ralph Lauren fits back during the 2008 Olympics. Outside of showbiz and the runways, it’s the courts and the tracks where fashion makes a significant impact on culture, and it’s a story as old as time. Athletes have always chosen to make fashion and political statements on and off the courts. But given that sports and fashion have been frequent bedfellows, what makes 2024 the year of their combined grit and strength? Turns out, the Olympics only make up a small portion of it.

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