Sports fashion trend: sporty clothing

In 1982 Olivia Newton John told us, “let’s get physical”. And though the 1980s fashion revival has been and gone, Olivia’s words still ring true among 2010′s fashion trends. No, we’re not talking fitness-induced sweat stains, neon lycras, or hideous headbands. Instead sportswear has become streetwear in spring / summer 2010 – in all its sexy, svelte, and effortless glory – a fact well worth remembering for those fashionisers in the Southern Hemisphere only now heading into the warmer weather.

Alexander Wang’s inimitable cool factor put him at the fore of this trend. The young, fresh interpretation he sent down the runway for Spring 2010 saw us all looking to American football for an injection of youthful tomboy cool into our wardrobes come Spring. But while football is key, it’s not the only sportswear inspiration: don’t forget to look to sports like baseball & hockey, tennis, scuba-diving, and dance.

Alexander Wang: sport trend 2010

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Sports trend: the looks

The possibilities for 2010′s sportswear fashion trend are many – but it’s also easy to go wrong. Thus, we’ve singled out four key looks for how to wear this trend in 2010: the tomboy, the sporty flapper, the urban dancer, and the Bond bombshell.

The tomboy

She’s the pretty girl at school with the rough-and-tumble attitude, the one who’s blissfully unaware of her own beauty; the one that kicks the ball with the boys oblivious to their crushes. Alexander Wang epitomised this look with his Spring 2010 collection: youthful, unimaginably cool, and ultimately sexy. The cool factor is engineered by way of cropped tops, pants low slung to expose the waistband of an under-layer; leather cross-lacing, jersey fabrics, football-style shoulders. Woven into the effortless tomboy look are super-feminine elements like sheer fabrics and high heeled shoes, placing the look firmly in 2010.

Along with American football – which was also an inspiration behind Alexandre Herchcovitch‘s Spring 2010 collection – you can also take your fashionable sportswear inspiration from other tomboyish sports like hockey, baseball, rugby league, and soccer.

Alexander Wang Spring 2010 runway

The sporty flapper

If she were a character, she’d be The Great Gatsby’s Jordan Baker; athletic, boyish, cynical, seductive. Golf or tennis are the flapper girl’s games, so in 2010 it’s preppy with a 1920s twist. Look no further than Hermes – with drop-waist pleated skirts and sports stripes in classic colours – for inspiration.

Hermes Spring 2010 runway

The urban dancer

She’s a little more Dirty Dancing than Swan Lake; but that said it’s not an 80s costume party free-for-all either. We simply mean that – as with any take on the sports trend in 2010 – it’s best when femininity is kept low key. There’s an element of the urban, of the street. A little bit of toughness and carelessness. Look to Charlotte Ronson as a perfect example, with a subtly stonewashed bodysuit given modern flair; soft ballet pinks and creams transferred into skinny pants and flowing sheer hoodies, her looks capped off by topknots and understated braided sweatbands. Bottega Veneta‘s slouchy sweats in pastel yellows are another prime example.

Charlotte Ronson Spring 2010 runway

The Bond bombshell

Bond girl bikinis

You know all those knock-out Bond Girl bikinis that somehow suggest an element of the functional, and yet are really nothing more than sex bomb swimwear? Ursula Andress’ belted bikini, or the red scuba suit in Thunderball… that’s what to think of when you attempt this look.

Based heavily in scuba and diving wear, sleek modern takes were seen on the runways of Gucci, Julien Macdonald, and Alexander McQueen for Spring 2010. Any dabbling in this type of sporty look should be skin-hugging, sexy, and most of all – dangerous.

Scuba-inspired outfit at Julien Macdonald, Spring 2010

How to style it

As described above, there are many ways to add a sporty look to your wardrobe for Spring 2010. For any sporty style, the important thing is not to look too sloppy like you’ve just spent an hour at the gym, or too “glamorous” either – no Juicy Couture velour tracksuits please. Here are a few things more generally that you can try to work the look:

Messy long hair, the side braid
Sexed up with super high yet sport-inspired heels
Incorporate some knee-high socks – look to Alexander Wang’s cut-out back socks, or sports socks with stripes – but in luxe fabrics. The right kind of leg-warmers can also work
Cross-lacing – particularly in leather – reminiscent of baseball gloves and boot laces
Shoulder pads, football player style
Work in the hot pants trend for a sporty take on hot pants or bodysuits
Cut off tees
Jersey fabrics; mesh
Pleated tunics (elegant ones – no super-short cheerleader skirts)
Utility elements like plastic buckles, snap closures, and rope ties