Becoming An Icon.
It takes more than just skill. It takes confidence.
This International Women’s Day, we’re using our seamless studios here at Gymshark to recreate some of the most iconic fashion moments in women’s sporting history. With the original designs worn by three legendary sportswomen – all of whom have worked hard to improve not just the culture but the future of conditioning, we delve into why these specific looks were chosen and hear how the designs came to life.
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What pieces would make you feel the most supported, comfortable, and confident in your fitness journey?
A HOMAGE TO THE GREATS
Ready, set, action.
No two shoot days are the same, but they always begin with preparing the set and running our models through the creative brief.
We talked our talent through the different mood boards for each woman they would be representing through the replica pieces and how they could embody the strength, empowerment, and unapologetic nature that those women displayed throughout their iconic sporting careers.
Our models fiercely delivered, embodying nothing less than the confidence of an icon.
Let’s take a look at the result…
Eva, as one of the greatest tennis players in the world. She wears our take on the iconic one-shoulder-tutu dress. Sporting a one-shoulder moment made from our Vital Seamless collection and sports skort designed from our Sweat seamless fabrics.
Indiyah, as the famously pink-clad record-breaking track star. She hits the studio wearing our barbie Pink Vital Seamless collection cut and sewn into the iconic “one-legger” piece we saw our icon run track wearing.
Guusje, as the iconic Queen of Muscle Beach. She serves vintage realness and all-around strength in the OG matching two-piece crafted from our creamy-colored Adapt Fleck release.
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From design studio to final prototype… discover how the iconic outfits were recreated.
Shape the future of seamless at Gymshark and see your ideas come to life in our seamless studio.
The Most Iconic Women In Sporting History
Through breaking the bias and being unapologetically themselves, these athletes have become icons and inspirations to women all around the world. To pay homage to them, we took to our in-house seamless studio to recreate the pieces that made history along with their achievements. More than just a fashion statement, their outfits represent what can be achieved in the face of adversity.
Because we’re all about shining a light on the women who have made a difference yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
THE FIRST LADY OF IRON.
Taking to the male-dominated Muscle Beach, opening a women’s gym, and pioneering the sports bra and shorts combo by ripping up a restrictive unitard, this lifting icon took to the fight on traditional ideas of ‘femininity’ with nothing but a barbell. And she won.
Known to many as the Queen of Muscle Beach, she paved the way for a new generation of female lifters by breaking the bias on what a woman’s body was ‘expected’ to look like.
"In those days, lifting weights was thought to be unfeminine. The misinformed think if women strength-trained, they'd become masculine looking. We laughed knowing they were wrong."
The mission to get strong started after high school, where she started lifting weights to offset the lack of activity caused by having a sedentary job. She became a hybrid gymnastics-wrestling-lifting duo with her high-school sweetheart in the 1940s and soon went on to write for Strength and Health magazine, giving regular training advice to women in a column called “Barbelles”.
Heavily involved in the OG lifting culture in the US, she became the poster girl for physical training and was a pillar in the community – encouraging women to partake in strength training whilst continuously growing the popularity of Muscle Beach.
She and her husband later made history by hosting the first-ever women’s weightlifting competition. Even during a time of great conflict during WW2, and with her husband being deployed, she always prioritized women's health and remained set on advocating for women's fitness. So, when he returned home, they opened one of the first women-only health clubs, and she continued in her life-long mission to inspire women to get strong.
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The Look
Historically, one-pieces were the uniform for a lifter during the 50s, but our icon disliked how restrictive they were. So to combat this, she and her mother took things into their own hands, quite literally, by taking apart the unitard to create a two-piece look with the now-iconic cone bra.
In many ways, she pioneered the “bra and shorts” aesthetic that we see in gyms all over the world today. So, we chose to replicate this original two-piece because not only does it highlight innovation, but it showcases how women have continuously set standards for themselves, knowing what they need to help them perform their best.
MORE THAN A NAME. A LEGACY.
As iconic as sportswomen come, but not without challenges along the way.
She's heralded as one of the greatest tennis stars of all time. She’s recently spoken about evolving from tennis to prioritize other things in her life, but that wasn’t before she revolutionized the sport for all women.
She began her sporting life started at a young age, and it didn’t take long for her to stand out amongst the crowd. The outcome of her professional debut from 1995-1998 was a series of wins and losses that resulted in her ranking no. 20 in the singles. Becoming a top-10 player was her next feat, and that’s exactly what she did, achieving an iconic Career Grand Slam.
From the mid-2000s onwards, she propelled her way through the biggest tennis titles, making comebacks after injury breaks and finally dominating the tennis world with her record-breaking performance. Winning 23 Grand Slams and 73 (yes, seventy-three) career titles paint a picture of perpetual success, but all athletes, even the most iconic, have to overcome adversity.
The Look
Sporting a one-shoulder ballerina-inspired tutu is a far cry from the typical tennis attire we see on the court. But this iconic piece was more than just a fashion statement.
Just days before, the French Open banned her compressive jumpsuit which was designed purposefully to help with blood clots that she had been experiencing post-partum. By prioritizing her health and adapting her sportswear for her body, she could enhance her performance despite the life-altering circumstances.
What started as a use of compression technology to combat poor blood circulation soon started a movement of compressive sportswear to elevate performance. An inspiration for all women that recovery, however that looks like, can be done on your own terms.
LOUD. PROUD. UNBOWED
Three golds from the largest international multi-sport event, a world championship, and the women’s 200m world sprint record. Won in style. As a world-famous track-and-field athlete and dynamic sportswoman, she knew that high confidence was the key to high performance.
From the clothes on your back to the conviction in your head, she understood deeply that feeling better was the key to moving better. At the same time, her ethos was that if you’re going put on an iconic performance, you might as well create an iconic look while doing so.
Refusing to blend in as a Black woman in sport, this iconic athlete showed the world that sport and style could run seamlessly together. She was unapologetically herself throughout her record-breaking career, sporting vibrant colors to compete in and showing up at the start line in extravagant outfits, a full face of makeup, and her nails done. And of course, she’d go and win.
As a woman of color in a space that might make you want to shrink yourself, she did the opposite and embraced who she truly was, breaking biases and being unapologetically loud, proud, and unbowed.
The Look
Have you ever seen a one-leg jumpsuit in barbie pink on the track before? If you have, it can be accredited to this icon, who ran at the World Championships in 1987 wearing this iconic “one-legger” piece.
Not shying away from her bold and eclectic style, this unconventional look made a statement, showing how sporting outfits don’t have to fit into a mold and every race could be made into a fashion moment. Because why not?
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Re-Creating The Iconic Outfits
When it comes to re-creating 3 of the most iconic fashion moments in women’s sporting history, there’s a lot of pressure. We mean, where do you even start?
To get a better understanding of how the three looks were created, we sat down with Rochelle Mills, Senior Designer at Gymshark to learn a little more. “When reminiscing on sporting icons, our Design Team aims to identify silhouettes that can be recreated for the Gymshark family. The brief for International Women’s Day allowed us to research women in sports fashion throughout the years, see what excited us and what nostalgic styles we could explore or re-create in our own Seamless materials here at Gymshark.”.
What Did The Design Process Look Like?
“It was… unconventional. We had a short turnaround of 3 days for this project, so after the initial computer sketches were made and illustrations are drawn up, it was immediately time to get hands-on.”
The designers worked straight off of the mannequins where they played around with fabrics, experimented with cut and sew techniques, and even upcycled old Gymshark Seamless pieces in order to re-create the three iconic ‘fits.
What Was The Most Difficult Thing When It Came To Re-creating These Iconic Outfits?
“It has to be creating the cone sports bra”, recalls Mills. The iconic design is an old-fashioned coned sports bra – a silhouette that was entirely new for our Design Team to tackle. “We ended up building the entire bra on the mannequin. It features detailed paneling that was pretty complex to create.”.
Were There Any Special “Gymshark Touches” Added To The Outfits?
Besides technological improvements, like our cut-and-sew techniques, the real Gymshark stamp interwoven into all three designs is the true flexibility of the silhouettes. At Gymshark we pride ourselves on the fact that our apparel can make people feel comfortable and confident – no matter where they are in their fitness journey, and these outfit re-creations have the same values sewn into them. They’re designed to make women feel good because Seamless is made for everyone.
Are There Any Women In Sport Who Continue To Inspire You Today?
“Naomi Osaka! She’s unapologetically herself.” Mills says. “I just admire how she doesn’t need to change her personality to come across as charismatic; she’s just good at what she does and consistently lets her craft shine.”.
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What would give you the confidence to become an icon?
Becoming an icon takes more than just skill, it requires confidence. That’s why this year, we want to understand exactly what it is that will give you the confidence to grow and become your very own icon.
How it works: fill out the form below and be in with a chance to turn some of your ideas and suggestions into real tangible products here at our seamless studios. This is your chance to shape the future of seamless. What are you waiting for?!
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