The last few years have seen more and more sporting and performance brands collaborating with high-end fashion houses. Alongside this trend, many brands in our industry are now showing collections at the big four Fashion Weeks of New York, London, Milan and Paris. Others are using the timing and location of these events to launch collections or showcases.
With performance brands forming the essence of the hugely popular “gorpcore” look – which Vogue announced in Nov. 2022 was “here to stay” – should sporting and outdoor brands begin to consider fashion weeks as another big date in their calendars, as important as trade shows for debuting products and collections? We bring you some of the most successful Fashion Week events from sporting and outdoor brands of recent years.
Updated Sept. 2023
Nike at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week July 2023
To coincide with Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week July 2023, Nike hosted “Goddess Awakened;” a 40-minute performance experience featuring more than 30 Nike athletes and partners, and celebrating the collective power of womanhood through movement, style and self-expression.
In collaboration with choreographer, dancer, artist, athlete and Nike partner Parris Goebel, the Goddess Awakened show was intended to represent the next era for the Nike Women brand, “as a platform for celebrating and empowering female creativity and self-expression through the lens of community.” It took its inspiration from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, inspiring viewers to tap into their inner strength and support the collective power of women.
Costuming featured Nike pieces with collaborators including Martine Rose, Yoon Ahn, and Feng Chen Wang.
Wales Bonner x Adidas at Paris Fashion Week Men’s June 2023
At Paris Fashion Week Men’s SS24, Adidas presented its latest collaboration with Grace Wales Bonner and her label Wales Bonner, entitled “Marathon.”
According to Hypebeast, the show was a “reflection of a long-distance runner: the silent messenger, the unwavering spirit striding, soaring,” and involved athletes Haile Gebreselassie, Genzebe Dibaba, and Eliud Kipchoge.
Wales Bonner-branded Adidas side bags in leathers featured alongside a macintosh coat that featured Adidas’ logo on the outside, and a checkered print inside, and a metallic silver track jacket.
Adidas at the Metaverse Fashion Week March 2022
The second ever Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW), organized and hosted by Decentraland, featured a fashion show by Adidas. Owners of Adidas’ Virtual Gear non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were able to claim an exclusive 3D twin to use on avatars inside Decentraland’s platform.
The MVFW is a multi-disciplinary and cross-metaverse event consisting of runway shows, after-parties, educational talks, shopping, immersive experiences, and entertainment.
Other sporting goods players with a presence at the event included Alo, who hosted mindfulness sessions, and Yankeekicks, who ran a pop-up sneaker shop.
Adidas has been leading sportswear’s venture into the Metaverse since it launched its first NFTs in Dec. 2021.
Houdini at Paris Fashion Week Feb. 2023
Although not technically a fashion show, Houdini is the latest brand from the sporting goods industry to use the timing and location of the world’s big four fashion weeks to launch their own collection (others include UYN’s Urban line, designed by Patricia Urquiola, and unveiled in Milan, and Canada Goose’s FW22 collection with Chinese-born, London-based designer Feng Chen Wang and Chinese artist Xu Zhen, showcased during Paris Fashion Week).
Houdini announced in Jan. 2023 that it will show its FW23 collection at Paris Fashion Week in 2023. Is a low-impact, circular fashion show also in Houdini’s future?
Puma at New York Fashion Week Sept. 2022
Having previously taken to the catwalk for collaborations with Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma lines, in 2022, Puma held a solo show at New York Fashion Week. The S/S 2023 show, “Puma Futrograde” – curated by Puma designer and creative director June Ambrose – showcased a selection of looks from current and upcoming seasons, as well as custom pieces designed to highlight Puma’s “Forever Faster” philosophy.
What made this show distinctive was that Puma didn’t uphold a strong divide between fashion and sports pieces, but rather specifically aimed to show technical design and features across all looks.
why performance brands should embrace the “performance” aspect of their products
MM6 Maison Margiela and Salomon at Milan Fashion Week Sept. 2022
Salomon is no stranger to fashion weeks, often appearing on the feet of industry figures moving in-between catwalk shows. In 2022 however, Salomons trod the catwalk officially. In the S/S 2023 show at Milan Fashion Week, MM6 Maison Margiela presented its second collaboration with Salomon, with strikingly reimagined running vests and sneakers.
This is not the first time the Paris-based fashion house has collaborated with a gorpcore favorite, with previous collaborations including Eastpak and The North Face.
Adidas x Gucci at Milan Fashion Week Feb. 2022
The “Exquisite Gucci” show at Milan Fashion Week in February 2022 debuted the Adidas x Gucci collaboration, with Esquire Magazine calling it ”a full execution of three-striped everything merged with Gucci house codes and emblems.”
In June 2022, the collaboration continued off the catwalk with a cross-category selection that portrayed ”the kaleidoscopic aesthetic of Alessandro Michele by mixing the codes of the House with those of the historic sportswear brand, and consequentially those of high fashion and streetwear.” The sell-out collection was distributed online at Gucci.com, through pop-up stores, and through the Adidas Confirmed app.
Sandy Liang and Salomon at New York Fashion Week Sept. 2022
In September 2022, Salomon’s hiking shoes trod the catwalk at New York Fashion Week alongside scholastic and ballet-inspired high fashion pieces from New York designer Sandy Liang. This was the second time the designer had featured the shoes in her New York shows.
In high-fashion circles, performance shoes are just as popular off the catwalk as on, favored by models including supermodel Bella Hadid. For more on this story, see our accompanying article on gorpcore.
Lacoste at Paris Fashion Week Sept. 2019
Although not focused on performance wear, Lacoste is a sporting brand that has successfully crossed over into fashion many times. It has been a longstanding fashion week presence, with shows traditionally a fixture on the New York Fashion Week calendar.
However, in 2019, the classic of French tennis made its Paris Fashion Week debut at the Tennis Club de Paris, in the elegant 16th district of France’s capital city, not far from the venue of the Roland Garros tournament. This was followed up with a runway collection in 2021 and another impressive show in 2022.
Reebok at Paris Fashion Week June 2019
Back in June 2019, Essential Homme asked, “Was Reebok the sneaker of Paris Fashion Week?” with the brand having three collaborations at Paris Fashion Week: Chromat, Angus Chiang, and XimonLee.
MM6 Maison Margiela and The North Face at London Fashion Week 2020
Shown alongside men’s and womenwear pieces at London Fashion Week, the MM6 Maison Margiela x The North Face collaboration introduced a new take on the performance brand’s signature expedition system garments.
Once again, high fashion locked on to the performance capabilities of the sporting brand, with MM6 saying in a press release: ”Starting from The North Face iconic black shoulder construction and executed in a bright palette, authentic performance textiles ensure each piece preserves ultimate functionality whilst embodying a sculptural and resolutely avant-garde silhouette.”
Reebok at Shanghai Fashion Week March 2019
In March 2019, Reebok opened Shanghai Fashion Week with its runway show. The event was part of Reebok’s multi-layered presence at SFW and was evidence of the brand’s belief in the power of China as the forefront of style and the relevance of the Asia-Pacific market.
The runway show, themed “The Other Side,” featured a ‘see-now-buy-now’ aspect for Reebok’s Spring/Summer 2019 styles, all of which were available for purchase immediately following the event.
Gore-Tex at Paris Fashion Week Feb. 2019
Another big hitter in the performance brand world that may not have staged a fashion show but has used Fashion Week as a platform for its own showcase is Gore-Tex. At the 2019 Men’s Paris Fashion Week, it presented a multi-vision display concept, “Selected Memories of Functionality” in its fashion week showroom, a selection of urban lifestyle jackets and footwear highlights from the past few decades. The selection was curated by Stephen Mann, a stylist based in Great Britain.
In January 2023, Gore-Tex announced it will be returning to Paris for the Men’s Fashion Week with a showroom extending the theme and featuring images of AI-generated outfits from the past and the future. Curators Advanced Research have joined forces with graphic designer Newfacet to challenge two different AIs to create a set of imaginary Gore-Tex concept styles interpreting the past and envisioning the future.
Eva Karlsson of Houdini and New York Fashion Week Jan. 2022
Although it didn’t take place on the catwalk, we can’t omit Houdini CEO Eva Karlsson’s contribution to last fall’s New York Fashion Week. In Sept. 2022, Karlsson issued a challenge to global event attendees at both the fashion event and Climate Week NYC: 7 Days. 7 Garments. Can You Do It? as part of the circular business leader’s “Live Large With Less” philosophy.
Tying the challenge to a fashion event was an excellent choice by Karlsson to make clear the functionality of the Houdini brand; one of the main attractions of functional clothing in the gorpcore movement.
