The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising has partnered with the American Federation of Arts for an exhibition that explores the evolution of sports fashion.
Under the title “Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960”, the exhibition examines how women’s sportswear has changed over a period of 160 years and how the technology in the manufacture of sportswear has developed. The show, inspired by a scarf from the 1940s labeled “Outdoorgirl”, features illustrations of women who practice 13 different sports. The exhibition was brought to life through the use of authentic activewear pieces from labels – including Champion, Chanel, Balenciaga, and more – that were current at that particular time. The exhibition is carefully curated to show the advancement of sportswear with new ideas, technology, social growth and more that will ultimately represent the “new woman” of every decade.
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The exhibition debuted this month at The Frick Pittsburgh and will travel to seven institutions across the country through 2024.
Speaking to FIDM curator Kevin Jones, FN was able to learn intimate details about the curation process, how gender roles come into play in the sports fashion world, and much more. However, Jones reiterated that this project is not intended to compare women from different time periods, but rather to show that they were all “modern” women.
Archery in the 1820s. – Credit: Courtesy of FIDM
Courtesy of FIDM
It’s easy to think of today’s activewear as “liberal” or “updated,” but Jones said, “What is liberal in one era may not necessarily be considered liberal later. … Every woman in this project was the modern woman. “
The exhibition also answers the question of what role colors play in women’s outdoor fashion and how that has changed today. “We start our project in 1800 because of the availability of garments that have survived … and so we see that the color theory intended for boys and girls in the 19th century was the opposite of what we think today” said Jones. “Girls were actually dressed in blue and boys were more pink. Pink was considered a lighter shade of red, which was an aggressive color – while blue was soft on the eyes and was often associated with the Virgin Mary. “
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Cheerleading with Spalding sweaters in the 1900s. – Credit: Courtesy of FIDM
Courtesy of FIDM
Baseball in the 1930s. – Credit: Courtesy of FIDM
Courtesy of FIDM
Jones noted that there was a shift in the 1920s and 1930s – when boys started wearing blue and girls started wearing pink. He also reveals that in sporty fashion, the colors were determined by the activity.
“If a woman were on the hunt, you would of course wear colors to blend in with your surroundings, but in golf you could have bright greens and Saturday reds. … Everywhere in sports fashion we have tons of color combinations, ”he said.
In addition, the colors in activewear were also determined by what colors were in vogue at the time.
“Think of the 1870s when synthetic dyes became very popular,” said Jones. “It was really avant-garde because it was a modern technology, because before that it was natural dyes.”
The exhibition also explores the craze surrounding the idea of sportswear worn by women who were not athletes. (Today we see this when celebrities wear biker shorts to have coffee).
Swimming in the 1950s. – Credit: Courtesy of FIDM
Courtesy of FIDM
Jones said that by the 1890s, universities began to wear activewear for women in a lifestyle way where they could just be around each other and wear whatever they wanted while exercising.
“There were no men there; it was much more liberal for women to wear what to wear on the court. It wasn’t that the women were dressed up, they were just in a much more relaxed atmosphere, ”explained Jones.
Jones shared that this idea of dressing more casually carried over into the 1920s when it came to beachwear. “It’s not exactly what we think of today when we say athleisure, but it’s genesis. It started with beachwear when women wore more pants, ”he said.
Travel boots from 1865. – Credit: Courtesy of FIDM
Courtesy of FIDM
As the name suggests, the exhibition documents fashion from 1800 to 1960, but that doesn’t mean that sports fashion is over.
“[Sporting fashion] do not stop. What happened is that we found that everything a woman needs when it comes to sportswear has been designed. We have women who play lacrosse, basketball, hockey, biking, and watching. … Women do everything and they have the clothes for it, ”said Jones.
He added, “These are not dead clothes. [We’ve] realized through the process that good design is good design, and although they may have been used differently in the past, they are still useful today as the whole world has become a sportswear world. “
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