Fashion and Sport
from one podium to another
In the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts presents an exhibition that explores the fascinating links between fashion and sport, from Antiquity to the present day. This large-scale project reveals how two seemingly distant universes share the same social issues, around the body.
450 pieces of clothing and accessories, photographs, sketches, magazines, posters, paintings, sculptures and videos highlight the evolution of sports clothing and its influence on contemporary fashion. Jean Patou, Jeanne Lanvin, Gabrielle Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli are among the pioneers who, during the interwar period, took an interest in the sporting world and transcribed it in their haute couture creations.
The exhibition also shows how sportswear has made it possible to divert sports clothing from its specific use to integrate it into the daily wardrobe. The question of comfort, the common thread of the exhibition, allows us to understand the reasons why jogging and sneakers have become fashion essentials, both for everyday life and for haute couture, from Balenciaga to Off-White.
