Wimbledon capitalising on tennis-core trend with largest retail collection

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), home of the world's most famous tennis tournament, Wimbledon, has unveiled its largest retail collection to date, complete with a semi-formal capsule designed to be worn to The Championships.

The 2024 retail collection, all designed onsite at Wimbledon in London, steps away from Centre Court, combines cutting-edge performance wear with seasonal lifestyle pieces, as the sporting institution looks to capitalise on the growing tennis-core trend on social media thanks in part to Zendaya’s press tour for her tennis film ‘Challengers’.

Inspired by the traditions of lawn tennis and the AELTC, the collection has been designed and manufactured in line with the tennis club’s values of heritage and excellence, blending craftsmanship and contemporary design to offer stylish options to wear, watch and play tennis as it looks to become a global player in the sports apparel landscape.

Daniel Ashmore, head of retail, merchandise and licensing at the All England Club, told FashionUnited at the press preview for the collection: “Usually within sports apparel their name is on the left chest of the kit - we take quite a lot of pride in being different - it's our name in the back neck, it’s our brand over the heart, and we are proud and passionate about that point of difference.

“We design and source in-house, we’re not working with licensees, we are working with in-house expertise to put the collection together – this means sourcing trips, buying the fabric, working directly with the factories, and ensuring that each garment is as we intended it to be.”

Wimbledon celebrates heritage with fashion lifestyle collection

Since 2016, AELTC’s sport, fashion and lifestyle Wimbledon collections have been growing, following its withdrawal from licensing to take a more invested stake in the aesthetic, quality and sourcing so it could tell its own story “more authentically”.

This has led to the sporting institution this year showcasing its most varied collection to date, adding modern athleisurewear, smart-casual garments and accessories, designed and ready to wear both on and off the tennis court, to its traditional all-white and performance tennis kits.

Ashmore added: “Wimbledon’s tagline is ‘in pursuit of greatness’ and we take that level of care and attention within the retail apparel and merchandise arm of the business. The championship is a premium event, and our guests expect excellence on their day, and we are looking to replicate that within our retail collections.

“We parted with our licensees to take more direct control of the aesthetic, now the aesthetic looks like it was grown at Wimbledon, because it really was designed in SW19.”

Wimbledon retail collection designed from “an authentic place”

The aesthetic echoes Wimbledon’s rich history while encapsulating the unique spirit of British summertime, utilising its core green and purple palette, tennis court lines, the tennis ball, and its iconic logo featuring two tennis rackets, as well as the quirky touches that make the British tennis tournament unique, such as its love of strawberries.

Ashmore and his team have also worked hard to get the branding and vision of the collection right, including leaning away from heavy branding and looking for more suggestive of Wimbledon, such as an embroidered tennis ball or a word mark with its established dates, or the iconic crossed rackets from its logo.

While the sporting brand has added fashion lifestyle items such as knitted cardigans, oversized rugby shirts, sweatshirts, dresses and leather accessories, its performance clothing still outsells the lifestyle range with a 60/40 split.

However, the continued dominance of the tennis-core trend has seen web traffic to Wimbledon’s retail website increase 69 percent year-on-year, and it has reported significant double-digit growth in the last couple of years.

“Sports luxe is having a moment, and there is a broader interest in tennis clothing,” adds Ashmore. “We are proud that we have a collection that’s designed at SW19 and that comes from an authentic place. If it doesn’t work on the court or in the clubhouse, it’s not for us.”

When it comes to the pieces they feel will be a success this year, Ashmore believes that knitwear “could perform very well,” as last year due to it being a wet and cold championship some of its knitwear had sold out through the middle of the first week. Regarding volume, hats are the big winner for Wimbledon, last year during the two-week tournament it sold more than 75,000 baseball caps.

Other highlights from the collection include a navy Harrington jacket complete with an exclusively designed Wimbledon check interior, a white sweatshirt embroidered with a giant strawberry, a retro-inspired navy and white bomber jacket, and an urban-style green and white co-ord tracksuit.

Also new to this year’s collection is a range of Italian leather bags, including cross-body bags, shoppers, backpacks, and washbags, designed for taking to the court or on a weekend getaway.

Prices for the Wimbledon retail collection range from 15 to 250 pounds and is available onsite at the championships as well as online.

Wimbledon to take on New York

While Wimbledon is a British icon, it is also a global brand, and this year the tennis championships will have an expanded presence in New York for its ‘The Hill in New York’ experience. Following the popularity of its first two editions, the Wimbledon pop-up event is relocating a bigger venue under the Brooklyn Bridge from July 12 to 14, doubling capacity to 3,500 on each of the days.

The event, which recreates Wimbledon’s iconic ‘Hill’ at SW19, will launch with a free concert headlined by Nicole Scherzinger on the Friday, before showcasing live tennis from a big screen on Saturday and Sunday, complete with strawberries and cream and Pimm’s served at the Wimbledon garden bar.

‘The Hill in New York’ will also have a shop selling Wimbledon’s clothing line, which is currently only available online for US shoppers.

Sally Bolton, chief executive of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, said: “We are delighted that The Hill in New York will be back for a third edition. The event has really begun to establish itself as a special occasion where Wimbledon fans can gather, enjoy the live tennis and feel part of The Championships, even from afar.

“This year’s edition will be bigger and better, with our new location at Brooklyn Bridge Park allowing even more people to come along and enjoy the mix of music and tennis. We look forward to celebrating Wimbledon finals weekend with New York’s passionate tennis fans.”