The World’s Sexiest Sport Needs a Stylist
Despite being the world’s second smallest country, Monaco has never been shorted its deservedly first-class status on the world stage. And aside from its reputation as the setting for princesses dying tragically in car accidents, Monaco is best known for the wealth and beauty that congregates within its coastal borders. A Russian nesting doll-esque relationship lends a near equal level of prestige to Formula 1’s most recognizable race, the fittingly named Monaco Grand Prix. The eponymous race has no trouble drawing the rich, powerful, and good looking— an impressive intersection typically reserved for more curtained gatherings rarely granting public access. Such an assemblage demands a fanfare befitting the attendees. Spectators have their pick of luxury experiences including a “Super Yacht Package” that offers “helicopter airport transfers” and “drinks with F1 legends” for a mere €11,380. As spectators float into the weekend—comprised in part by celebrity the likes of Kris Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Kylian Mbappe—the event becomes saturated with a style and Grace (RIP) emblematic of the crowd.
Au courant the style may be in the stands, but it is an entirely different situation for the athletes on the track. Race weekend attire is predominately comprised of the standard racing suit each racer is required to wear. But the uniformed requirements typical of all major sports rarely means a complete abandonment of fashion sensibilities. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is no stranger to the inroads a successful career can pave into the world of fashion. The sport’s darling driver is most notably attached to Tommy Hilfiger through a series of high-profile collaborations reserved for the Gigis and Zendayas of the world.
Such elite fashion sensibilities, then, Hamilton must surely possess to earn a place among those names. A sport so closely associated with elitism and luxury must, of course, translate to a fashion sense so distinguished that the American sportswear icon had no choice but to tap the fashionable driver for a collection routed through racing heritage. One can only imagine the results; perhaps a collection based in classic moto-stylings with a European and auto-racing sophistication. Finding rich source material for collections should be as close to a cakewalk as imaginable with access to vintage Ferrari and Mercedes memorabilia, right? But perhaps these expectations were too high, as the outcome manifested itself as a hardly imaginative collection that seems reflective of Lewis’ personal style, which could be described generally as a second-hand Kanye circa 2010.
The collection itself is not quite so painful. Tommy’s perennial relevance has perhaps granted the driver’s taste a decade’s worth of modernization, but not a year more. The collection can be summarized with one piece: joggers with ankle zips. No further innovation is put forth in the collection, which boasts unisex hoodies and denim Bermuda shorts. Hamilton’s failure to create a collection worthy of the posh Formula 1 legacy is not completely unbelievable once the poster-child of the sport steps aside to reveal the lineup of similarly lacking drivers. Against the favorable odds granted to them by wealth, youth, and good looks, few of the drivers have developed an obvious sense of style beyond the one-off shrunken tux worn to an unmemorable red carpet or otherwise tedious event that demands their presence. Even on those occasions, there is a chance that they are simply recycling a suit purchased in their carting days, technically outgrown but serendipitously in fashion.
“Lewy, if you let go of the reflective tape, I’ll let you put it on the backpack. But that’s it!”
It could be reasonably argued that a sense of style is hard to develop over the course of a career that is so mentally and physically demanding. Can one be faulted for the foregoing of style for the wealth and fame that many would kill for? Certainly not. But there is not even a progression of style in the sport’s drivers in retirement, many of them hovering around the sport tangentially— hosting pre-race shows or playing eternal heel to Lewis Hamilton. Often fitted in skin-tight pants and stressed button-downs, these drivers are given little to no guidance by a stylist or wardrobe. It is clear that the drivers, active or not, are ill-fated to remain stuck in a style that seemingly stagnated in the early 2000s.
Unfortunately, this is a trend among high-class athletes who are so self-assured in their athletic abilities that they never stop to consider where their talents end. It’s doubtful that anyone needs reminding of the clumsy and garish outfits that continuously pepper the quasi runways of any given sport. What many of these athletes, Formula 1 drivers or otherwise, fail to realize is the importance of style over fashion. Many look to personal shoppers or high school friends that call themselves stylists to supplement whatever misinformed fashion flex they have in mind. Despite what the surfeit of fashion students with more than 800 followers claiming to be stylists may have you believe, it takes legitimate talent to become a legitimate stylist. Hiring one is not a detriment to the career of an athlete and, given that their lives have become increasingly televised, they should strongly consider investing in a sartorial image complementary of their status.
