November 18, 2022 |
Have you ever wondered what Haider Ackermann sportswear looks like? His new collaboration with Fila introduced a previously unseen sporty side to the Haider aesthetic.
Ackermann is a runner and used that as his touchstone for ice-white running tights, fluttering nylon coats, keyhole, apple green mini dresses and onesies, slinky knitted tracksuits and body-con for boys and girls. “It’s a new approach,” he said of his first foray into the sports realm. There was none of the brashness so common in this genre. Instead, sporty Haider is all about a dynamic, high-tech, elegance in a colour palette a-typical for sportswear of brilliant white, coral, sky blue, mocha and lilac. None of it looked retro although Ackerman was inspired by the Fila archive and the stand-out style of its most famous 1970s ambassador, Bjorn Borg.
You could see the influence of the great sportsman in a section devoted to tailored shorts and polo shirts but Ackermann was inspired by his spirit as much as his look. “He is a reference – his elegance and nobility. That’s what I was reaching for, to find nobility strength and elegance,” said the designer backstage after the show, which took place in a cast warehouse complex in Manchester where weekly raves take place.
Why Manchester? “It’s a city of the youth and I want to embrace the youth,” he said of his decision to show in the northern powerhouse city. Its literature, sport and music scenes were also important touchstones although the designer admitted he’d missed out on dancing at the Haçienda. “I raved in Rotterdam,” he said.
Photography courtesy of Fila.
