When Roger Federer took to the courts at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015, his tennis wasn’t the only talking point.
The 20-time grand slam champion has stood out from the crowd with a somewhat unusual colour scheme for his outfit. Unlike the average choices of white or blue, he decided to go with brown and cream. The clothing was designed by Uniqlo, who secured a 10-year deal with Federer in 2018. Reportedly valued at approximately $300 million.
There has been a somewhat mixed reaction to Federer’s look. Catherine Whitaker, who is the co-host of The Tennis Podcast and is working at the French Open for Eurosport, recently said Federer ‘walked out on Philippe Chatrier (centre court), first time four years, dressed as the most stylish t*** in history.’ Meanwhile, others have poked fun at its similarity to the uniform of the United Parcel Service (UPS).
Ah, after yesterday's @TennisPodcast, I have been informed that Roger Federer's outfit is a dead ringer for the UPS uniform, not FedEx pic.twitter.com/iZ1WyWj3Gf
— Simon Briggs (@simonrbriggs) May 27, 2019
The resemblance is uncanny to say the least. After his second round win over Germany’s Oscar Otte, the Swiss third seed denied that his look was inspired by UPS. Although it is easy to see what some would think this. Instead, he said it was more about him wanting to tavel back in time for a more vintage look.
“It was more trying to go back in time a little bit to the ’70s and I haven’t worn brown ever and cream.” He explained.
“I thought it would be a nice look, Uniqlo thought the same. When we saw it, we all liked it. I like it. I know these kind of colours always stir a debate. You could always go safe and do blue with stripes in Paris and say, like, Okay, French people like blue and white and stripes. It’s always going to work.”
“I haven’t gone back a whole lot in my career, back to the ’70s and ’80s, to be honest, to look for inspiration. But I like it. I feel comfortable in it.” He added.
Like Federer, Kei Nishikori is also wearing a look made by Uniqlo. However, his combination is pink, yellow and turquoise. Again, it is a vintage look, but more colourful. One of the principle people behind the designs is Frenchman Christophe Lemaire, who joined Uniqlo in 2016 as artistic director. According to The Business of Fashion, Lemair also made $14 million in revenue with his own line of clothing in 2018.
https://twitter.com/ATP_Tour/status/1133734179303301121
“I am really looking forward to competing in the French Open wearing the game wear created together with Christophe Lemaire and the Paris design team,” Nishikori recently said. “The vivid colours to match the Paris season will inspire me to achieve my best result.”
On the court, Federer will play Norway’s Casper Ruud in the third round of the French Open on Friday. Meanwhile, Nishikori will take on Laslo Dere.
Listen to Federer’s explanation (question asked by Live Sports FM reporter Jonathan Pinfield)
https://twitter.com/tweetsbyjp/status/1133789514017779712
