NewsBite

From football to F1, this is how you nail spectator style

The Fashion Week front row has been usurped as the style set’s favourite place to peacock.

An attendee at the 2024 Australian Open. Picture: Liz Sunshine
An attendee at the 2024 Australian Open. Picture: Liz Sunshine

With myriad rules, intense competition and a professional level of preparation and co-ordination involved, spectator dressing in Australia could be considered a sport in itself.

For every lens fixed on the field, court or ring, there is another scanning the stands, searching for the most fashionably dressed.

Attend one of the country’s biggest sporting events, and you’re likely to find Liz Sunshine behind the latter, snapping the day’s sartorial champions. Fresh from capturing the most chicly dressed attendees at this year’s Australian Open, the fashion photographer has covered the gamut of sporting codes and knows all the secrets to curating a winning spectator ensemble.

No matter the sport, she says, the key is finding a balance between comfort, style and adherence to dress codes.

“The best outfits lean into a dress code and have a level of comfort that allows a spectator to be completely present at any major sporting event, but that doesn’t need to be at the cost of style,” she says.

When it comes to Australia’s most stylish spectator event, horse racing has firmly worn the crown for decades; however, Sunshine predicts it won’t be long before courtside replaces trackside as the most fashionable place to be seen.

“Australian Open is the new Melbourne Cup,” she declared to her 102,000 Instagram followers last week while covering the prestigious Melbourne grand slam tennis tournament.

Few rival Kate Waterhouse’s trackside style. Pictured at 2024 Magic Millions race day. Picture: Luke Marsden.
Few rival Kate Waterhouse’s trackside style. Pictured at 2024 Magic Millions race day. Picture: Luke Marsden.
The Australian Open’s official outfitter Ralph Lauren ensured guests nailed the brief.
The Australian Open’s official outfitter Ralph Lauren ensured guests nailed the brief.

It also faces competition from the Formula 1 grand prix, which has until now been slow to capture the attention of countries outside Europe such as the US and Australia.

With stylish F1 stars such as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton preparing to descend on Melbourne’s Albert Park in March, this year’s Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix is likely to attract its most stylish crowd yet.

“The media pack wait with bated breath, cameras poised every morning at the paddock entrance at Albert Park as Hamilton arrives,” says sports journalist and presenter Tara Rushton of the famously fashionable F1 star. “Why? Because everyone wants to capture what he is wearing.”

Lewis Hamilton arrives at Albert Park during the 2023 Formula 1 Grand Prix . Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Lewis Hamilton arrives at Albert Park during the 2023 Formula 1 Grand Prix . Picture: Jake Nowakowski

It’s also worth mentioning the growing interest around soccer (at the risk of upsetting European and British “football” fans), thanks to the unprecedented success of last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The quadrennial event, which attracted two million fans to games around Australia (500,000 more than anticipated), cemented the soccer stadium as a place to both spectate and show off one’s style, with national team the Matildas catapulted into the spotlight.

Today, players such as Sam Kerr, Ellie Carpenter and Mary Fowler, who won the hearts of Australia with their incredible talents on the field, are now also being celebrated for their personal style off it.

“It’s no longer just about the match or the race,” says Rushton. “It’s about the experience and the touch points we find to feel connected to that – fashion being one of them.”

Today, the world’s top sports stars hold as much – and in some cases more – sartorial pull than their famous Hollywood and fashion industry counterparts.

South American footballers Christian Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the world’s most followed people on Instagram, with NBA star LeBron James, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and former English football hero David Beckham each boasting more than 50 million followers on the platform.

Their faces are splashed across billboards promoting not just global sports and streetwear brands, but the world’s top luxury fashion houses. These influences, Rushton notes, are impacting the trends we’re seeing both in the stands and on the street.

“Athletes in the NBA and NFL have been using their entrance into the tunnel as a catwalk for years – it’s a powerful tool for self-expression and social activism – and brands have seen an opportunity to become involved into a space that now garners mass numbers of public interest, not just its broadcast numbers, but millions on social media,” she says.

These events, with the national and often global attention they attract, also offer the ideal platform in which to make a statement – sartorial or otherwise. Take Taylor Swift’s appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game last month. The US pop star’s appearance in a custom jacket emblazoned with boyfriend Travis Kelce’s jersey number (87) saw sales of the tight end’s supporter merchandise jump by more than 400 per cent.

Jerrod Carmichael and Taylor Swift cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium in New York last month. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images
Jerrod Carmichael and Taylor Swift cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium in New York last month. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images

Andy Murray’s wife, Kim Sears, is another woman who understands the power of spectator sport, says Rushton, who cites her outfit choice at the 2015 Australian Open final after being caught swearing during the men’s semi-finals. “Her response … was to arrive at the Australian Open men’s final wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with ‘Parental Advisory Explicit Content’,” she muses.

With so many sporting events on the calendar to dress for, what’s one to wear?

There are multiple factors to consider, says Mode Sportif founder Deborah Symond O’Neil. “Tailoring your dressing for the style of sport, venue and location is key,” she says.

The Sydney-based retailer was among the first to identify athleisure’s potential, opening her boutique in 2014. Today, Mode Sportif’s offering has expanded to include occasion wear but continues to be the go-to for women after something on-trend to wear to their favourite sporting events.

“For sports like tennis or sailing I always love seeing looks that are relaxed yet polished,” says Symond O’Neil. “I find the most eye-catching looks that turn heads tend to be those with a nod to the sport, with an elevated and stylish twist.” For tennis, she loves a pleated skirt, “however, in a longer line length”, and for sailing events such as Hamilton Island Race Week (Australia’s top sailing regatta at which she is regularly spotted), polo tops with contrasting fabrics ”like lace or with an embroidered touch”.

Nadia Fairfax in Ralph Lauren, the official outfitter of this year’s Australian Open.
Nadia Fairfax in Ralph Lauren, the official outfitter of this year’s Australian Open.
Snezana and Eve Wood attend the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2023 Picture: Danielle Castano
Snezana and Eve Wood attend the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2023 Picture: Danielle Castano

Also consider the type of entry ticket, which determines at which end of the formality spectrum your attire must sit. Members’ areas, whether at the cricket, AFL or racetrack, generally stipulate jackets, collared shirts and sometimes ties, with those dressed too casually – think flip-flops, ripped jeans and board shorts – likely to be denied entry.

For less formal games, such as NRL and AFL, and many general admission areas, Symond O’Neil suggests pieces such as well-fitted jeans, “an on-trend sneaker and a striped polo or shirt”, in preppy, classic hues. “I’ve loved seeing the feminine and preppy aesthetics across the collections of late, with pops of red, navy and white, as well as the return of the much-loved cable knit, Bermuda-style shorts and pleated skirts.”

But colour choice shouldn’t be based on trends alone, says Rushton. “Take into consideration who is playing and what colours the teams and national kit will be”, or you could find yourself “looking like an opposition supporter without even thinking about it”.

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/from-football-to-f1-this-is-how-you-nail-spectator-style/news-story/649bd5011cf0dfbb986ce6e155308d62