PARIS (AP) – Well before Andre Agassi caused a stir with his stone-washed denim shorts at the French Open, the clay courts at Roland Garros were a sporting catwalk for fashion experimentation.
From the corset-less dress worn by “La Divine” Suzanne Lenglen and designed by French creator Jean Patou to the revealing black-and-red outfit that Venus Williams exhibited five years ago, the tennis stadium located in the chic western district of the French capital has always been a fashion hotspot.
“Players want to show their personality through their clothes,” former player Tatiana Golovin told The Associated Press at the launch of an exhibition recounting the links between fashion and tennis at the Roland Garros museum.
The exhibit, called “Game, Set and Fashion,” has more than 60 pieces of women’s and men’s clothing on display, some that have never been shown before, as well as pictures, posters and a focus on the fashion designers who made tennis fashion.
There are dresses and shorts – some dating back to 1890 – a lavish male tennis coat, autographed outfits by the likes of Steffi Graf and Williams, and a collection of tennis shoes.