WHU65 takes a nostalgic look back at the Italian sportswear revolution of the early 1980’s

WHU65 takes a nostalgic look back at the Italian sportswear revolution of the early 1980’s…

Chances are that if you are of a certain age, you will fondly remember a number of popular continental luxury sports brands. Even if you were too young to have been around during the early part of the eighties, most people will be au fait with names like Fila, Sergio Tacchini and Lacoste and their products to some extent. Here we take a look back to those heady days of the 1980’s and examine the clothing, shops, brands and advertising behind them covering the period of around 1980-1984. Don’t get carried away or upset if you were wearing any of these labels before or after then as there will of course be differences of opinion, age factors, regional preferences and money issues to consider. AS well as what you could actually beg, borrow or steal!

This is not going to be a north v south debate over who wore what first and when. Neither will it be an in depth study on what later became known as the “casual” movement. I am not trying to trace the roots of terrace culture or make absurd connections on what influenced young football lads at the time. What I will be doing though hopefully, is bringing back a few happy memories for you regardless of your geographical location as we take a walk down memory lane together…

THE MAIN PLAYERS:
Fila, Sergio Tacchini, Ellesse, Diadora, with a supporting role from Cerruti 1881 and mentioned in dispatches Robe Di Kappa and Australian by L’Alpina. There were of course other Italian sports brands around and also many other labels that were popular but not of Italian origin. For the purposes of this piece, it is the aforementioned designers that will be examined.

Diadora were an exception to the other brands in that it was largely their footwear as oppose to their clothing that was purchased. The other main players in the UK training shoe market at the time were German and American giants Adidas and Nike with Puma, Lotto and assorted other manufacturers bringing up the rear. Many top sporting stars wore Diadora including tennis professionals such as Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Martin Mulligan, Pat Cash and England’s own Buster Mottram. Both the 225 range of Borg Elite shoes produced between 79-86 and also the 234 series of Borg trainers which were available from 77-83 proved very popular with teenagers and early 20+ folk. Other shoes of note included Master, Player, Competition and Tie Break.

Whilst a number of them came in the £20 or just below region price wise e.g. Player at £19.99, Diadora also specialised in higher specification models which were very expensive and cost prohibitive to some. The 234 Bjorn Borg series which included for example shoes like the Borg Ace and Borg Top Spin were typically in the high 20 and 30+ bracket. A pair of Borg Elite 81 from the 225 range came in lush kangaroo skin and cost around £37 with prices up to £39.99 with some retailers by 83/84.

Like Diadora, Fila was originally distributed solely in the UK by Polytrade Ltd. Founded in 1911 in Biella, Fila expanded into the tennis market in 1973. Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, John McEnroe (in his early years), Victor Pecci, Boris Becker (post Ellesse period) Pam Shriver, Andrea Jaeger and a whole host of other top tennis players all wore the brand. It was the tracksuit tops in particular which were top of most people’s wants list. The Borg Bj range as well as the much coveted WCT, Whiteline and Vilas models were all popular choices.

Compared to other non Italian brands at the time, Fila items and their tracksuits in particular were very expensive. When you could typically purchase a full Adidas tracksuit for between £20 and £30 a Fila could set you back anywhere from £60-£100 depending on the design and style of fabrics you chose. The Borg Bj and WCT lines were some of the pricier items and could easily cost a young lad 2 weeks wages! Even for those with better paid jobs, one tracksuit could eat up most if not all of your weekly wage packet. A Borg polo shirt was just under £24 in 1980 with some leisure range polo items available for under £20 up to the end of 1982. Patterned and hoop design shirts were more expensive than the plainer ones. Quite ridiculous today when you think that the reissue items are selling for roughly the same price or slightly cheaper than they were well over 25 years ago and people are earning substantially more!

Later on as Fila experimented with biker style short collar models circa 82, the Borg Bj Tarinda was born along with an interesting mix of triacetate material based non-Borg designs. The WCT tops had the zip off centre in an unusual and unique fashion and written style embroidered logo either on the chest or down the arm in a larger font. This was a complete change to previous designs which came with a standard small or large square embroidered “F” logo patch to the arm or chest areas. Other garments from the Fila range that were worn included the tennis polo shirts, ski jackets and leisure range polo shirts and jumpers.

Sergio Tacchini was a much newer brand founded in 1966 by the Italian tennis player of the same name. Originally calling the company Sandys S.P.A. his idea was to create new and exciting tennis apparel in a range of experimental fabrics. Tacchini like Fila boasted an impressive array of top tennis players who wore the brand. These included a young Jimmy Connors, Roscoe Tanner, Martina Navratilova, Peter Fleming, Vitas Gerulaitis, Pat Cash, Ilie Nastase and perhaps most famously of all John McEnroe during his most productive years.

Their strength was their simple yet very pleasing eye catching designs. A favourite and stand out top has to be the Dallas tracksuit in navy blue with two white stripes to the chest and red collar. This was also available in red, white, sky blue and royal blue colour combinations. Polo shirts such as the Supermac and Young Line ranges in assorted colours were also in demand. Other noteworthy track tops included the Fford, Ghibli and Master. Between 1980 and 1984, the tops underwent several changes. These included a written logo under the standard ST embroidered circular design as well as a change from a standard zipper to a ST logo tag. Later versions also incorporated a design down each arm similar to one used by both Umbro and Admiral in the late 70’s. Whilst Tacchini’s prices were not quite as steep as Fila’s, they were not far behind. A full suit could set you back anything from £45-£70 depending on the chosen design.

Ellesse was also a relative newcomer to the market having been founded in 1959 by Leonardo Servadio. Whilst Ellesse was also popular amongst the professional tennis circuit it was to a much lesser degree than both Fila and Tacchini. Worn by the likes of fans favourite darling the American Chrissie Evert, it was through the sponsorship of her that the brand really took off. Before this, it was much more widely known for its ski wear and that will be of no surprise to many a UK football lad as the Ellesse ski coat was considered a wardrobe essential for many! Also sported by Vilas in his post Fila years as well as the likes of Chris Lewis, Paul McNamee, Boris Becker, John Lloyd, Hana Mandlikova, Pat Cash and Virginia Wade.

The ski jackets came complete with a winter penguin logo to the zip tag as well as to the bottom sleeve just above the cuff and a hidden hood in an interior slit level with the base of the neck. Various versions saw reversible models, 2-part coats which could be worn as separate body warmers and as well as the standard ones. Many of their track tops were of an unusual (at the time) shell style which were totally different to their competitors in concept. Polo shirts came in a mix of plainer styles as well as hooped variations in a wide choice of colours. Their ski and bucket hats also adorned many a head during both the winter and summer months.

Jimmy Connors was without doubt the most famous tennis star to wear the Cerruti 1881 label which was also worn by fellow pro’s such as the Swede Mats Wilander. This was a less common court brand which was initially not as well stocked as the likes of the other leading Italian manufacturers in the UK. Their designs were again very different and the company produced some splendid pieces during this era. It is probably fair to say though that it was Cerruti’s main menswear and ladies labels that were most successful rather than the sportswear range. Some of their leisure range jumpers, polo shirts and tracksuits were nevertheless outstanding.

Although some lads sneered down their noses at Robe Di Kappa viewing the brand as divs wear, it was and still is well received in certain circles. Although the Turin based company had been operating since 1916, it was not until 1969 that the unusual and unique logo was born. Following a shoot for a bathing suit commercial which featured a man and woman sitting naked back to back, it was decided to use the photograph of the outline of the couple’s bodies as a logo.

Although Kappa started out life as a sock and underwear manufacturer, it is as a sports and leisure brand that the company is best known. Kappa is very well known in the world of football where it produces football kits and boots for teams worldwide. Again it was the plain polo shirts, track tops and the odd piece of knitwear that caught the attention of the younger terrace element. It never scaled the heights of Fila or Tacchini in the “must have” stakes but did enjoy a short period of popularity.

Lastly but by no means least we come to probably one of the lesser well known of the Italian sportswear brands – Australian by L’Alpina. It arrived on the scene relatively late compared to the others in the UK but had and still does have its fans. A couple of UK stockists have tried to revive the label over here in the last couple of years or so without much luck. The retail price seems a little steep compared to the likes of Lacoste, Tacchini, Fila and Ellesse and the Kangaroo logo means those that don’t know often confuse it for Kangol!

The brand was founded in the 1950’s but it wasn’t until circa 1980 that it first started to make an impact on the pro tennis circuit following the sponsorship of a young relatively unknown Czech tennis player called Ivan Lendl. Later on top players such as Jarryd and Ivanisevic courted Australian as it became more widely known. The track tops and polo shirts were unsurprisingly the most popular pieces from their range. Oddly enough it is very popular in Holland (especially on the gabba techno scene!) where there is a flagship store.

THE SHOPS:
Originally it was very hard to source many of the high end Italian sportswear brands in the UK. This wasn’t because the labels were not available but more a case of the fact that official stockists were few in number and many were specialist tennis/sports emporiums sometimes outside of major town and city centres. The larger cities like Liverpool, London and Manchester often provided the best hunting grounds unless you were lucky enough to have a supplier nearby. By far the best bet though was a “shopping” trip abroad. Tales of the Scousers and Mancs looting sports shops across Europe on away fixture excursions are widely known but they weren’t the only ones at it. Summer holidays and school trips also saw good opportunities for the more sussed to pick up some new threads to impress the lads and lasses with back home. Unlike the majority of mass produced world wide fodder we see today, it was far easier to find designs and ranges of clothing which were not available in the UK back then.

Shops such as Lillywhites in Piccadilly London, Eric Willmont of Hall Green in Birmingham, Hurleys In Manchester, Sullivan Sports in Liverpool, Sportsland in Wolverhampton, Sharp Sports in Kensington London and numerous other stores up and down the country became inundated with teenagers and their mothers buying up the latest tennis fashions. Some lads went for the obvious items whilst others tried to seek out a rarer piece that was less likely to be seen on someone else. People travelled hundreds of miles just to visit a specific shop without any guarantee of finding that elusive purchase in their size or colour. Some retailers would split up tracksuits selling off the top and bottoms separately. This was good news for lads struggling to find large sums of cash and also for those who only wanted the top as it saved valuable revenue.

Then you had to be on your guard against being “taxed”. This usually meant bigger handy gangs of lads hanging around near to a shop waiting to attack and rob buyers of their newly paid for garments. Some shops took to placing items in plain carriers so as to lessen the chances of any unwanted attention from eagle eyed prowlers. Shop keepers also had to be on their guard against “steaming”. This was when a gang of lads literally charged through a shop grabbing what they could and then making a run for it without paying. The more sussed vendors took to locking their doors forcing people to ring a bell to get in and sometimes employing a security guard or two as well – Streetfighter in Sutton Coldfield and Sharp Sports in Kensington, London were both good examples of this.

Menswear shops aimed at the more discerning older punter were noticing that they were attracting the attention of a much younger crowd as well as their regular cliental. Austin Reed which had several nationwide branches and also Stuarts in Shepherds Bush, London were two such places. Stuarts noticed the demand for brands like Gabicci, Farah and Pringle and started stocking other similar products as well as picking up on the sportswear scene. Purposely aimed at the football lads style shops were now starting to appear. Man at War was situated close to Stuarts in London and Streetfighter in Sutton Coldfield was another such outlet.

During this time numerous other shops had also sprouted up all around the country some even running mail order adverts! Olympus Sports expanded its operation and built several new 301 superstores nationwide and other shops came and went as the terrace fashion stakes hotted up. World of Sport in Birmingham was one such failed venture despite carrying a rather excellent range of Tacchini, Fila and Diadora tennis shoes! It would of course be an impossible task to name all the shops from that era many of which ceased trading during the late 1980’s and 1990’s. Some of the retailers are mentioned on the adverts which appear elsewhere in this article and hopefully your regular haunt will be there somewhere.

The boom culture couldn’t last forever though and many retailers didn’t see the end coming and got their fingers burnt. Shops were left with massive overstocks they could no longer shift as demand started to decline. The match going fraternity moved onwards and upwards away from the sportswear scene. As early as 1982 Burberry and Aquascutum had gained some credence with golfing jackets becoming a noteworthy item particularly in the south. Throughout 1983 things were changing slowly but surely. An article appeared in The Face magazine later in the summer which used the phrase “they haven’t got a name, though some call themselves casuals”. Scousers and Mancs adopted a more dressed down mode (later dubbed “scruff” look) which included suede jackets and crew neck jumpers. Meanwhile Cockneys latched on to Giorgio Armani and as 1984 came along it was soon to be all change please. More and more school kids were getting into the sports look and even complete no marks. Suddenly it was everywhere you looked. Foster brothers were selling Adidas Munchen and Gazelle and the cast of Grange Hill had even discovered Fila at last! The rest they say is history…

ARTICLE COPYRIGHT WHU65 MARCH 2009-03-31 NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION.