Vignette 3: Image Is Everything

Here is the third one in the series of four posts on the evolution of tennis presented through four somewhat idiosyncratic vignettes, each capturing an interesting evolutionary point in the history of the game.

You can read the first vignette here https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/vignette-1-raising-racket-technologically-harry-jose?trk=pulse_spock-articles

And the second one here https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/vignette-2-audacity-hope-harry-jose?trk=pulse_spock-articles

 They say form follows function. As a marketer, form is something I pay a lot of attention to. In the third blog of the series I will look at how the attire of the male tennis players has evolved over time, the focus of evolution initially on feeling good (function) and then on looking good (form). Rather than plotting a linear narrative, I will present the contributions of four men – three from the pre world war 2 era and one from the modern era.

Bunny Austin’s primary claim to fame till 2012 and till Andy Murray was that he was the last Englishman to play in a Wimbledon men’s final. Our interest is more in his secondary claim to fame – that he was the first person to wear shorts at Wimbledon. In 1932, he chucked the traditional tennis attire of cricket flannels for a pair of shorts as it weighed him down too much. The world shortly followed suit. Austin was a bit of a socialite – had an actress wife, played tennis with Charlie Chaplin, mingled with heads of states and led a very active public life – which probably helped to ease the transition.

We next turn our attention to Bunny Austin’s Davis Cup team mate, whose primary claim to fame till 2013 and till Andy Murray, was that he was the last Englishman to win the Wimbledon men’s title. Fred Perry was of course much more than that. The first ever player to win a career grand slam, he was one of the all-time greats of tennis. He was also a national champion at table tennis. But again our interest is more on Fred Perry’s sartorial contributions, which incidentally checked both the form and function boxes. First off he is credited with the invention of the sweatband, which today has evolved into something of a fashion accessory. However Perry’s biggest sartorial contribution was the creation of the Fred Perry shirt, a white sports shirt made from white knitted cotton pique with short sleeves and a buttoned placket. The brand with its laurel wreath logo is still popular. Incidentally Fred Perry clothing line was the clothing sponsor of Andy Murray till 2009.

Our third contributor from the same era is a Frenchman – Rene Lacoste, who probably is more known for the brand he created. Lacoste’s original sartorial contribution however occurred during his playing days when he made the shift from dress shirts to the more comfortable short-sleeved knit shirts. Sensing a market for such a style, Lacoste created his own apparel brand once his playing days were over. The famed Lacoste crocodile logo was supposedly the first instance of a designer logo to appear on a garment.

In the modern era sartorial evolution was more form than function. One aspect however remained unchanged till the seventies. The color was always white. Even the balls were white in color till 1972 (Wimbledon introduced yellow balls only in 1986). The advent of television broadcasting of tennis matches brought in a lot of changes. Probably nobody embodied this better than Andre Agassi, who is considered by many people to be the most colorful player ever. Denim shorts, spandex you name it, Agassi has worn it on court.  In a famous ad for Canon Rebel camera, Agassi steps out of a white Lamborghini, lowers his sun glasses and says “Image is everything”. A sentence which neatly summarizes the current state of affairs in the evolution of tennis outfits.