From the off-duty looks saturating Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week to the social media style savants, the most significant trend to emerge ahead of the summer season is one that has little to do with fashion and much to do with the industry’s antithesis: sport.
Blame Grace Wales Bonner and her ultra-viral sneaker collaboration with Adidas or Keira Knightly in Bend It Like Beckham, but the latest athleisure-adjacent styles is one taking cues from the soccer pitch or football field, rather than the runways.
It’s been dubbed as “blokecore” by over 235.3 million TikTok users, with sportif staples including rugby jerseys, nouveau trainers and streetwear-approved replica kits, which for those not fluent in the lexicon of football fans is the diffusion line of the official uniform for whatever team you’re barracking for, the informal summer template.
Yet, amongst the discourse, especially regarding “blokette,” the feminine subsidiary of this aesthetic, there’s been no mention of the person who started it all: Rihanna.
Now, with her latest maternity look, the certified fashion icon has proven why she is the ultimate master in the off-duty sports jersey, proving why this nostalgic aesthetic is more than a passing fad.
In a recent street-style shot, which you can see for yourself here, Rihanna was spotted donning a Jean Paul Gaultier variation in her ever-expanding arsenal of vintage football jerseys while out in Los Angeles.
The asymmetrical tri-colored mesh dress is emblazoned with “09,” like a basketball jersey, and is courtesy of the French couturier’s subsidiary label JPG Jeans.
Sourced by cult luxury boutique, Archive Vintage, the dress’ racer-back detailing and mesh accents offers a new variation on Rihanna’s quintessential oversized sports jersey silhouette, a look that has become a mainstay in her pioneering maternity wardrobe.
In Rihanna’s recent outing, the Grammy Award winner completed her ensemble with black Fenty trainers — for lucky owners of this archival style, prepare to see prices skyrocket on resale sneaker sites — and the Louis Vuitton X Yayoi Kusama’s Speedy Bandoulière 20 in red and white polka dots.
Given that Rihanna is the pinnacle of unviable street style fashion, although any attempts to replicate her ensembles would sadly be laking her signature swag, it’s easy to see how her penchant for sportif staples has been reclaimed as the trend du jour.
With her 2023 Super Bowl performance introducing many of us to the world of the NFL, can we blame Rihanna for inadvertently making 2023 the year sports apparel received the high fashion treatment?
And it seems that Rihanna’s tried-and-tested staple has already received the upper echelon of fashion heavyweights, with Jonathan Andersons, this year’s most viral designer, stepping out to close JW Anderson’s Men’s SS24 collection in an Irish rugby jersey.
Even the celebrity style set has followed in Rihanna’s footsteps, with Kim Kardashian, Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber all filtering their own signature styles through the soon–to–be mother-of-twos quintessential athletic style.
As Rihanna has proven, it doesn’t take skill to be a sports star, only style.
