The Tracksuit
We all love a tracksuit. It all began as an item of sportswear that athletes would wear pre-100M race. However it has always been flirting with fashion – high street and high end.
The tracksuit came about in the 1970s and could mostly be found made in velour fabrics (yes, we know you’re thinking of Juicy Couture – that came later).
The athletic trend carried on throughout the 80s along with the popularity of workout videos and the likes of Madonna donning leggings and mesh materials. The tracksuit however had been adapted and renamed the ‘shellsuit’. Break dancers in NYC adopted the tracksuit as their style of choice and danced around in the classic three stripe Adidas tracksuit that is still about today, often worn with some Nike Cortez trainers.
The 1990s is where the tracksuit really came back with a bang. We all still look to Aaliyah, TLC and Missy Elliot as being some of the best dressed of that decade, often mixing tracksuit trousers with Tommy Hilfiger crop tops and a paisley bandana. Their sense of styling was a possible reference to the B boys and break dancers that had come before.
In the current day, you only have to look as far as Skepta’s tune ‘Man’ for a reference to his “Tracksuit Mafia” and the fact that he’s been featured on GQ’s best dressed men for three years running.
For this season the Chloé collection featured the tracksuit paired with fur and brown hues that gave a 70s feel. Designers also championed the tracksuit for SS18. Alexander Wang deconstructed Adidas zip up hoodies, adding extra sleeves and tying them at the waist to create skirts.
The Bad gyal Riri X Puma collection encapsulates sportswear and heavily featured tracksuit elements, sporty fabrics and modern alternatives like over-the-knee boots that could be rocked by street style hypebeasts like, now.
Gucci also got in on the action with their ss18 collection. Their most Instagrammed piece was the shellsuit dripping in jewels with a classic 80s chevron design.
Whether you love it or hate it, the tracksuit seems to stick about no matter what and fashions love affair with it is still not over.
