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On Saturday, all eyes will be on United States’ Amanda Anisimova as she takes on Poland’s Iga Świątek in the Wimbledon women’s finals.
But this week there has been another rally taking place off grass.
It was catwalk v Centre Court as clashing schedules meant haute couture fashion week in Paris went head to head with the Championships in SW19.
Like all matches, there can only be one winner and surprisingly, it appears it is the London suburb rather than the French fashion capital that has claimed the contest.
While couture wasn’t short of Hollywood stars – Demna’s final show for Balenciaga included appearances from Kim Kardashian and Nicole Kidman, and the singer Dua Lipa and rapper Cardi B sat front row at Schiaparelli – Wimbledon has welcomed an eclectic mix, from the pop star Olivia Rodrigo to Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Oscar winners Mark Rylance and Cate Blanchett.
Yasmin Eady, the co-founder of Raven, a London-based communications agency, describes gaining access to the tournament as “more desirable than ever”.
Ralph Lauren, Wimbledon’s official outfitter since 2006 (meaning the brand dresses all tournament staff), hosts a string of stars who this year included the actors Ncuti Gatwa and Andrew Garfield.
Unlike a fashion show that lasts as little as 10 minutes, a match at Centre Court can go on for hours, but this doesn’t seem to be a deterrent.
“Wimbledon has become the must-have ticket for celebrities,” says Daniel Yaw-Miller, a sports and fashion journalist and founder of the SportsVerse newsletter. “It is one of those events that if you are seen at, gives you a particular kind of status in the celebrity world. It shows that you are moving in certain circles.”
The fusion of sport, celebrity and fashion is a growing trend seen across all types of sports including Formula One and football but this year’s Wimbledon, the third of four annual grand slam tennis tournaments, has shown just how integrated the two worlds have become. Tennis has come for luxury fashion and luxury fashion has come for tennis.
Thrilling rallies from athletes including Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff have propelled interest in the sport, signalling a transition in the game as this new generation of stars take over after the retirement of greats including Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Yaw-Miller describes Alcaraz as a “new rock star” and “an athlete’s athlete”. After his match against Cameron Norrie, Saka and Jurriën Timber took photos with him.
This season the Italian player Lorenzo Musetti used the championships to announce his new Bottega Veneta ambassador role by walking on to the court in a woven, white leather jacket from the brand. He might have got knocked out in the first round but the virality of the images show the impact a fashion partnership can have even if a jacket is worn for a couple of minutes.
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Marisa Hordern, the founder and creative director of the British jewellery brand Missoma, says this summer the company chose to focus on Wimbledon rather than Glastonbury. “The championships feels more culturally relevant and exciting. In terms of brand exposure, in the UK in terms of sporting events, it’s No 1.”
When an earring worn by Gauff from Missoma’s new tennis collection fell out mid-match, clips of her opponent Dayana Yastremska picking it up quickly spread. Some compared it with Chris Evert’s 1978 US Open moment when her bracelet fell off. “It was one of those awkward moments which just became PR gold,” says Hordern. So far the collection has performed 53% better than the brand had forecast.
Eady says an image of a player or a celebrity spectator wearing a piece or carrying an accessory is strongly coveted by brands.
It extends to the partners of the athletes too. The influencer Morgan Riddle, who is Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend, regularly partners with brands such as Valentino and Ferragamo on her spectator outfits.
According to the data firm Launchmetrics, last year’s appearance of the Challenger’s star Zendaya at the Polo Ralph Lauren suite generated more than £2m in media impact value for the US brand.
Unlike other sporting events, the spectators in the royal box sit in close proximity to the court and often end up in the background of coverage. Eady says: “If you have someone wearing a brand, smiling to the cameras as someone like [Novak] Djokovic wins a final set, that’s the money shot.”
