Love Clothing: Go for Gold...

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Go for Gold...

Training Day

As the world readies for the Olympics, high-performance gear squares off with high fashion in a collision of mesh, python, neoprene, and shearling. Let the games begin.

With the London 2012 Olympics quickly creeping closer the excitement is rising and sport fever is taking over. The Great Britain kit, designed by the lovely Stella McCartney, was revealed not too long ago and it seems us fashion lovers want to take part in the lead up to this special event too. Part of that might well be tied to events of the world. We have an Olympic games coming up in 2012, after all. The men’s runways were first to quote, almost en masse, the Olympics as inspiration.

But part is in a desire to keep the threads of minimalism and sports running through the warmer seasons, and doing so woven into a unified aesthetic While utility elements haven’t been done away with all together, they’re far less prominent. Sporty fashion in 2012 is less about taking a specific sports uniform and adapting it as street wear and more about creating sleek, almost minimalist pieces that have an element of the functional. If last season’s sporty girl was all about effortless slouchy sweatshirts and tomboy attitude, then 2012′s is all about Olympic athleticism as an undercurrent to poised femininity.

While a number of menswear collections for spring 2012 directly quoted Olympic sports as inspiration – notably Nicole Farhi and Moncler Gamme Bleu both referenced sports like fencing and rowing – many also leaned gently to the functional. As with women’s a mix of effortless sporty cuts and tailored pieces was key across menswear, a mix that should be looked to in a man’s wardrobe for the season. For men, the most obvious and most popular way of incorporating a sporty feel into spring is by way of outerwear: hooded coats in parachute silks or jersey, varsity jackets, and parkas are all strong options.

Lucky for us the sport luxe trend (aka sportswear inspired high-fashion) is hot for this summer and is super easy to pull off and fuse into daily looks.