F1 and fashion: A partnership on the world stage

Sir Jackie Stewart’s sideburns, James Hunt’s magnificent flowing hair and Michael Schumacher’s eccentric sense of style – Formula 1 has a long history of setting and breaking fashion trends, but its relationship with the industry is currently at an all-time high.

“There’s so much to be learned between industries,” Sky Sports F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham told British Vogue.

“I think the same can be said for fashion, film and music.”

The same can certainly be said for fashion, so what has led to F1 and fashion becoming comfortable bedfellows on the world stage?

Fashion’s presence in F1 has been keenly felt over the last half a decade, as the sport’s commercial rights holder Liberty Media has sought to increase the series’ global appeal.

Liberty Media’s mission to grow F1’s appeal could widely be construed as a success, via the advent of Netflix’s behind-the-scenes docuseries Drive to Survive, a dedicated approach to social media promotion and an enthralling title battle in 2021.

F1 is now a part of the mainstream, with track attendance hitting record levels and TV viewing figures (particularly in the United States) achieving record numbers as well.

The net result has had some impact on the way a grand prix is run, particularly pre-race festivities, with grids now packed full of celebrities, who present themselves in the latest designer garb, sharing photos with teams and drivers, performing ambassadorial duties and coming to blows with Martin Brundle, who Sky seem determined to pit against celebrities with little information to aid his pursuit.

“Of course, it’s mainly about the racing, but F1 has always been about the glitz and glamour too,” an F1 spokesperson told British Vogue.

“Today, sport, music and fashion are more closely intertwined than ever and the biggest celebrities transcend all three – that balance helps us get F1 in front of new audiences and brings new fans into our sport.

“There are few events outside of an F1 race that can bring together the biggest film stars, music artists, athletes, designers, influencers, creatives and even world leaders in one place – it’s a truly unique environment.”

The sport’s drivers, who are directly connected and influencing fans the world over are also on board the fashion hype trend.

Two of the sport’s most marketable stars, Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton, attended last year’s Met Gala, while the likes of Zhou Guanyu, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly regularly attend fashion weeks and all of them arrive at the F1 paddock sporting creative, fashionable looks.

Such was the F1 media frenzy post-2021, Ricciardo, Gasly, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon and George Russell graced Vanity Fair ahead of the 2022 season.

Teams across the paddock have aligned themselves with numerous fashion brands, such as Mercedes and its commercial partnership with Tommy Hilfiger, whom Hamilton and team-mate George Russell are ambassadors, with the former collaborating with Hilfiger on several collections and runway shows.

“The fashion world has now realised the potential that the sport has to reach global audiences,” Hamilton told Business of Fashion.

That notice from the fashion world is seen in the numerous commercial partnerships across the F1 paddock: McLaren is partnered with Reiss, Aston Martin with Boss, Ferrari with Giorgio Armani and Red Bull even has its fashion brand, running its Faenza-based outfit under the AlphaTauri banner from 2020 through to 2023.

Several of the drivers have elevated themselves to become brand ambassadors for the fashion companies affiliated with their respective teams as well and that isn’t exclusively limited to the younger drivers on the grid who are perhaps best suited to reaching F1’s new, younger and perhaps more fashion-focussed demographic.

Fernando Alonso, at the age of 42, is the senior figure of the F1 paddock, yet Aston Martin’s fashion partner Boss saw him as the perfect ambassador for their brand.

“For us, he’s a perfect match,” Nadia Kokni, Senior Vice President of global marketing at Hugo Boss told Women’s Wear Daily.

“He’s just an inspiration. The inspiring, positive energy that he has — he’s sustained that for over 20 years now. That’s something that really resonates for us and our consumer.” 

F1 drivers have become celebrity figures in recent years thanks to Liberty Media’s social push: Hamilton has 35.6 million Instagram followers, Leclerc has 13.4 million and even Alonso at the lower end of the spectrum has 6.5 million.

“They’re icons — they’re like musicians and actors,” Martijn Hagman, CEO of Tommy Hilfiger global and PVH Europe told Women’s Wear Daily.

“It has such a growing, global audience — it’s huge,” adds Reiss CEO Christos Angelides.

“I think us in the fashion world have been watching it [F1] with interest and feel that now is a good time as any to associate ourselves with high performance, high quality and a highly innovative industry that has some similarities to what we do.”

New players on the fashion stage are also looking to F1 to promote their business, with the emerging Milan-based brand Palm Angels launching its collaboration with Haas in Miami last May.

Haas’ pit garage was given a ‘Palm Angels’ makeover and drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen sported helmets and race overalls designed by the Italian brand, along with a Palm Angels Haas collection of clothing inside the paddock, reflective of a capsule F1 collection released to consumers.

Palm Angels founder Francesco Ragazzi told Esquire that F1 is “a truly global sport” and unlike “the Super Bowl once a year or World Cup soccer every four years,” factors which gained his interest and as an emerging brand found Haas as the sport’s newest outfit the “perfect partner” with “no rules and prejudice.”

But is fashion and Formula 1’s entwining legacy merely set to be about promoting high-end luxury for the elites and celebrities, a marketing tool aimed at generating large sums of money for both parties or is there something more on offer, a cultural impact, a vehicle for change?

When it comes to culture, Who What Wear notes a rising trend in F1 vintage clothing purchasing via sites such as Grailed or eBay.

Moreover, when it comes to a more accessible approach to F1 fashion, Puma is leading the way in 2024, stepping up to become the sport’s official merchandise partner whilst also launching a range of Formula 1 “fanware.”

With Puma’s increased involvement in F1 comes its bid to create a legacy, one that could show fashion serving the interests of motorsport for the greater good.

“We believe that bringing our existing female audience to the world of F1 is one of the important roles we can plan to support our new partnership,” June Ambrose, PUMA’s Women’s Hoops Creative Director told Who What Wear.

“We need that female driver that’s going to carry the conversation like Lewis [Hamilton] did, who’s that going to be?”

Manvi Mittal, fashion publicist at Small Girls PR and content creator for Females in Motorsport adds, that “sponsorships are incredibly challenging for a sport like F1, but especially for women, as [it] is still largely dominated by and catered to men,” implying that the likes of Puma can help support female participants scaling the motorsports ladder.

“Now is the time to be a mover and shaker for women in the sport,” Mittal concludes.

Mittal’s thoughts have genuine merit, as Who What Wear cites the influence of the female consumer on the clothing apparel scene – according to Statista, the women’s apparel market is double that of men’s and children’s combined, so who better than fashion brands to step up and provide financial aid to aspiring female motorsport professionals?

For some motorsport fans, talk of fashion and celebrity is an unwanted distraction, but if the net result is more fans and greater inclusivity within F1 and other disciplines, then that is to the benefit of everyone, according to Sky Sports F1 Lead Commentator David Croft.

“There are some Formula 1 fans who would be happy if their sport was the best-kept secret on the planet, but I don’t think it should be,” Croft told British Vogue.

“If we can have [celebrity] personalities with broad appeal [attend] so that in five or 10 years time we’re a sport that everyone has heard of, knows about, hopefully enjoys, potentially loves, I see no downside whatsoever.”

“We really need to thank Lewis Hamilton for trailblazing to this extent,” adds Pinkham.

“He’s the first driver for a very long time, perhaps ever, who’s commanded the back and the front pages of the press.

“He’s bold with his fashion, he’s prepared to take risks and he’s prepared to talk to a different audience and not feel straitjacketed by those who have gone before him.

“He cares so much about things outside racing, and because he cares, he sets the agenda.

“We should be very grateful to him because he’s opened the doors and literally welcomed everyone in. People feel included now in a way they never have before.”

Pinkham surmises fashion’s influence on Formula 1 best by saying, “when I started it didn’t feel as welcoming, particularly to young women and now it does.”