Fashion in the Fast Lane: Brands should embrace F1 Partnerships in 2024
2024 is the year fashion brands and marketers need to set their sites on the racing world. Last year we saw “racing core” trend with moto jackets, f1 x fashion collabs and the ongoing rise of Formula 1 with a more mainstream audience. Asap Rocky, who was named the Creative Director of the F1 x Puma partnership, and Adidas and Hugo Boss trying to become naming sponsors, it’s obvious brands are racing to get into the world of motorsport.
Now, at first glance when entering the world of Formula racing and partnerships, you see the big picture things, naming sponsors, dressing drivers or creating merch, which, for a lot of brands is out of reach and doesn’t reach the growing number of woman motorsport fans. So, fashion brands, ready to find out how you can reach the pinnacle of motorsport?
Dressing Wags
The wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers are quickly becoming some of the top followed in the racing space, and are often looked to by fans for fashion inspiration. Carmen Montero Mundt, Kika Gomes and Alexandra Saint Mleux some of the top. Selling out dresses from brands by being photographed at race weekends. Some Australian brands are already in on this, Kookai dressing Kika, the sell-out white dress Alex wore from Meshki, and DISSH being seen on Rebecca Donaldson.
Partnering with F1
Brands like Cotton On, HM, Abercrombie have released multiple collections over the last year that have been Formula 1 inspired. The newest in Australia was Cotton On, dropping a suprose F1 inspired range of tee’s. Last year, it was announced that PUMA would be the new merch partner for Formula 1, to be led my A$AP Rocky. This is a huge moment for everyone involved, fashion brands, F1 and the fans. With the growth of Formula 1 since the Netflix series Drive to Survive, the merch hasn’t really followed suit until now. If you are a fan of the sport, you know that the official merch is very basic, and not really targetting all fans. I’m excited to see what the PUMA partnership looks like in the next year. I’m hoping for trendy, wearable merch that is truly suited for all of the different people in Formula 1’s vast audience.
Take a look and shop the Cotton On Pitstop collection here.
F1 is at peak popularity
As mentioned above, Formula 1 has truly reached new heights in the last 5 years. Now is the time that brands should be racing to get a piece of the action. With the rise of the sport, means the drivers themselves are now becoming household names, and are reaching millions of followers across social media. Drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo and Zhou Guanyu are using their entrance to the race days to showcase their fashioanble side. Brands shouldn’t just focus on dressing wags, but if they can, dressing the drivers too. I predict this year we will see a lot more of the drivers being “dressed” by brands, last year Zhou was announced as a brand ambassador for Dior, which saw him entering the F1 paddock across multiple race weekends wearing full Dior outfits. More brands should be joining in on the “Paddock Fashion” action this year.
Racing Core is already trending
If you’re up to speed with whats trending in the fashion idustry, you should know that last year we saw a rise in racing themed collections, designs and outfits. Chanel including racing inspired items in their runway collection in Monaco, the comeback of leather racer style jackets and graphic tees. Brands don’t have to work with F1 to make the most of the fashion and f1 rise, they can keep to their style and add pieces inspired by racing to their collections, the power of the people comes into play here. Working with select content creators and influencers, in the f1 or fashion space to create a buzz around it. Once the F1 girlies know, expect it to sell out. We’ve seen the power of this with HM’s F1 line and the iconic Meshki dress that Charles Leclerc’s girlfriend, Alex wore and INSTANTLY made it go viral and out of stock.
