On the eve of the Olympics, a fashion and sports exhibition is held in Paris

From nudity to high fashion: how the suit designed for athletes changed

In anticipation of the XXXIII Olympic Games, which open on July 26 in Paris, the Museum of Decorative Arts, located in the northern wing of the Louvre, is hosting the exhibition “Fashion and Sports, from One Catwalk to the Other.”

It is dedicated to the history of sportswear, from ancient times to the present day, and explores the mutual influence of fashion and sports. At the entrance, the visitor is greeted by ancient athletes. People are like gods. The glowing Olympic rings above their heads resemble halos. Naked beauty in sports will be replaced by a suit, and this will be a movement from simple to complex, from bizarre samples to the primordial.

From the powerful figures of ancient heroes, the visitor can move chronologically to the haute couture of modern times, where haute couture sportswear is created even for surfers and skiers. You don’t have to follow the evolutionary path and freely jump from era to era in any order, go to the bright spots, and then delve into documentary facts.

The main hall, seemingly devoid of vaults, is adjoined by smaller ones, where paintings, photographs, objects, real museum luxury are presented – unique evidence of bygone eras. The exhibition contains about 450 items. These are suits, shoes, accessories designed for running, swimming, tennis, croquet, horse racing, and cycling.

A portrait of a tennis player by Roger Joseph Jourdain, who by today’s standards is dressed too luxuriously and awkwardly, and an old poster depicting a cyclist in an equally excessive dress capture sports images of bygone eras.

In the 19th century, dresses that were completely different from the laconic form we are used to were intended for playing tennis. Fun striped swimsuits for men and bold early bikinis gradually entered everyday life and transformed into futuristic designs.

Comfortable clothing created by sports fashion pioneers Gabrielle Chanel, Jean Patou, Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli sit side by side with fantastic haute couture and ready-to-wear looks created by Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander McQueen.

Posters and magazines from different years, photographs of famous athletes, many of whom changed the usual idea of ​​clothing for sports, became models, collaborated with outstanding designers and fashion houses – all this chronicles the change in style and attitude towards sports. Legendary footballer Zinedine Zidane was on Dior’s radar. French figure skater Suriya Bonaly took to the ice wearing Christian Lacroix costumes. Sports fashion shaped everyday style, influenced women’s and men’s wardrobes, and over time took first positions in it.

Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka is an Oscar winner for best costumes for Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, and a costume designer for the grand shows of Cirque du Soleil and David Copperfield. She has worked on Broadway and the opera stage, helped create costumes for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and created the red “Concentration Coat” for the Swiss team for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It’s hard to pass by this miracle.

Designer Violetta Ivanova from Kazakhstan is represented by the costume of the Saka queen Tomiris. It was created for the Kazakh team for the 2022 Olympic Games held in Beijing. Speed ​​skater Ekaterina Aidova appeared in it. The costume in the national style, black in color, considered sacred, is made of bologna with natural goose down and hand-embroidered with beads and seed beads.

I wonder what images the upcoming Paris Olympics will surprise us with. Previous collections are scattered around the world, remained in people’s memories, but are worthy of a separate collection and even a museum, as demonstrated by the exhibition under the arches of the Louvre.