Activewear

A dazzling race through a thematic exhibition

Ready… Set… Go! Activewear presents various themes in which street- and sportswear have influenced the world of fashion. Focusing on the European context from 1850 to the present day, you will discover designers, clothes and accessories at the intersection of fashion and sports.

Functional, technical textiles are one of the distinguishing features of sportswear. Incidentally, these are also well-suited for everyday wear. Clever designers had already caught on to this in the 1920s, when they started using the pleated fabric of tennis dresses in their conceptions for movement-friendly casual wear. But the exhibition also shows how contemporary designers and fashion houses use innovative sports fabrics to their advantage. For example, Off-White and Viktor & Rolf launched models in tulle dresses onto the catwalk, Walter Van Beirendonck shows a preference for spandex cycling jerseys, and emerging talents such as Craig Green and Simone Rocha like collaborating with Italian luxury brand Moncler, so they can get creative with the down linings typically used in skiwear. Our guest curators' love for high-performance materials is also clearly felt in the selection of pieces by Bioracer, Suzanne Oude Hengel and Jasna Rok.

One of the main themes in Activewear is freedom of movement and exercise. A nice example of this can be found in the 1980s, when designers like Gianni Versace responded to the fitness hype, spearheaded by Jane Fonda, by presenting sculpted figures in close-fitting and revealing designs. Or later, during the new millennium, when Dirk Bikkembergs turned the athletic, masculine body into the be-all and end-all of his designs and branding.

A quick look at fashion history shows that activewear is not a new phenomenon, and that its earliest traces date back to classical antiquity. The exhibition, however, takes 1850 as its starting date, showing striking parallels between then and now. Like today, the focus in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was on a healthy and sporty lifestyle. Women became more active and took up walking, cycling, horse riding, tennis, boating and archery. This affected their clothing: fabrics and cut were adjusted, decoration was limited and dresses became looser. After the First World War, designers such as Jean Patou and Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel went one step further and used sportswear as a tool for female emancipation.

What’s in a name?

As you’ll discover in the exhibition, the line between sportswear, streetwear and activewear is not always clear cut. Streetwear is closely related to youth subcultures, such as hip hop, skating and surfing. At the same time, it also contains sportswear elements, such as track suits, baseball caps and sneakers. Designers pick up elements from these subcultures, but process them in their own way. Activewear presents Raf Simons as one of the most idiosyncratic interpreters of this aesthetic.

Over the past ten years, the largest fashion houses have clearly focused on activewear. Two striking examples are the appointment of Kim Jones as artistic director at Dior Men and Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, which also ensured a younger and more masculine audience. A visible consequence of this ‘masculinization’ is the trend to only launch or ‘drop’ sneakers in larger sizes. These often become collectables, such as the Air Jordan 1 High OG Dior or the collabs between Raf Simons and Adidas. You can admire them in the sneaker corner of the expo.

Activewear showcases designs from Botter, Thom Browne, Chanel, Christian Dior Couture, Jean Paul Gaultier, Craig Green, Gucci, Lacoste, Missoni, Marc Audibet, Moncler Genius, Azzedine Alaïa, Off-White, Prada, Marine Serre, Raf Simons, among others , Stella McCartney, Walter Van Beirendonck, Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh, Y / Project, Yohji Yamamoto.

Follow the guide…

Would you like a personal tour by our guest curators? Then you should definitely opt for the unique audio guide voiced by Elodie Ouédraogo and Olivia Borlée. They’ll take you on a fascinating journey through their twin passions of fashion and sports. They’ll tell you why certain pieces intrigue them, which technical and creative feats are contained in certain designs, and how inclusivity and sustainability are translated into activewear. After this journey, activewear will have no more secrets for you.

For the whole family

If you’re visiting the exhibition with children, you certainly won’t get bored. You and your family can follow in the footsteps of Olympic champions Elodie and Olivia. Like them, try to collect as many medals as possible. Not by doing sports, but by completing all kinds of tasks. A breeze, you say? Not exactly, because just like in a foot race, you’ll be running against the clock. Also, the course is riddled with obstacles. Can you and your family collect ten medals in record time? (only available in Dutch)

Publication

The exhibition features an exclusive publication, in both a Dutch and an English version. This is not a classic catalogue but a richly illustrated magazine alternating articles by international researchers and journalists with interviews by designers, musicians and fashion actors. The result is a richly varied image of the wonderful world of activewear.

Articles: Karolien De Clippel, Preface –– Jesse Brouns, The Street is Ours - Nicola Brajato, Sexy Sporty Dirk. The Athletic Body in Bikkembergs’ Fashion – Lou Stoppard, The Hoodie – Anaïs Huyghe, Raf Simons. Sport, Street, Punk – Karen Van Godtsenhoven, To Play and to Slay. How Sports, Fashion and Activism Fused in the 21th Century; Interviews: Elodie Ouédraogo and Olivia Borlée by Eve Demoen - Paolina Russo, Glenn Martens, Drieke Leenknegt, Rushemy Botter & Lisi Herrebrugh and Charlotte Adigéry by Aya Noël; Photos: amongst others by Steven Meisel, Gavin Bond, David Paige and Ronald Stoops.

Date of publication: June 2021
Editor: Stockmans Art Books
Number of pages: 104
Price: €25
For sale in our museum's shop