by priyanka chopra free, Y/The project trompe l’oeil maxi dress visit the Ferrari garage. Lupita Nyong’o in Longchamp with a checkered flag, next to Red Bull driver Checo Perez. Marine Serre reworked race-fit dress, with armored bustier and bustle. Not to mention, A 2023 cruise collection inspired by the Chanel runwaycomplete with Chanel No.5 helmets.
As says Lewis Hamilton“was [once] an understanding that high fashion and high performance could not exist side by side”, but oh grid For celebrity street style wear, it’s clear that fashion’s motorsport moment is now in full swing.
Trends come and go, of course, but this athleisure crossover is more than a runway reference. Formula 1 and the fashion industry suddenly developed an interest in each other that is as profitable as it is prevailing. According to a report by brand building agency Karla Otto and insights specialists Lefty, Formula 1 is the second fastest growing sport contributing to the Average Earned Value (EMV) of fashion brands, rising 35 percent in 2023. In other words, marketing budgets spent within the F1 ecosystem are currently delivering huge returns on investment. A few column inches have already been devoted to finding out why that might be. Most land on this formula: TikTok + Netflix + Hamilton = global marketing gold mine. And they are not wrong.
A fly-on-the-wall Formula 1 reality series Drive To Live attracted an audience in addition to 7 million. And (F1 owner) Liberty Media’s recent social media strategy – which includes encouraging drivers to have a much bigger presence on all platforms – means that paddock favourites, like Hamilton, have a personal personality. who has a safe style. up to 40M followers. It’s no wonder brands are keen to capitalize on some of that exposure. But this phenomenon needs to be looked at more closely, because while the celebration of racing drivers is influential, it is not necessarily the driving force (pun intended) behind this new relationship with fashion. The real reason luxury houses are flocking to the track is… women.
One of the biggest changes in Formula 1 over the past five years has been the interest and participation of women. From the introduction of exciting pundits like Naomi Schiff on Sky Sports, to promote women as Hannah Schmitz as Chief Strategy Engineer, to the young women racing in the feeder series F1 Academywomen are finally everywhere in the Formula 1 industry.
“I always said: ‘If you can see it, you can be there’,” he says F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff, “and in a sport that was dominated by men, women are seen to be represented.” This visibility on and around the track is significant for women’s participation more broadly. “Female fans now make up 40 percent of F1’s total fanbase,” continues Wolff, “They’re not just engaging with F1 as fans, but building powerful communities within it. That is now attracting interest from a whole range of new brands, including those in the fashion and beauty space.”
Formula 1 has always been synonymous with luxury; it’s a sport for the rich, with six-figure entry fees for new athletes. Its most famous race takes place in Monaco, among the crowds of yacht owners and tax haven billionaires. Premium brands such as Rolex, Moët & Chandon and Louis Vuitton forged relationships with him long ago. The target demographic of these sponsorship partners, however, has historically been affluent and male.
Since then, the customer profile has changed dramatically. Vuitton’s story arc within Formula 1 is a beautiful testament to that. The brand started creating a travel trunk for the Monaco trophy, honoring the heritage and tradition of the races. Fast forward a few years as Vuitton dressed Hamilton in cutting-edge nylon, a funnel from Pharrell’s SS24 collection, hosted driver Pierre Gasly at the Cannes Film festival, and sent psychedelic patchwork-leather racing jackets down the runway. Seizing the opportunity and attracting the sport’s younger audience and growing female fan base, Vuitton has been a key beneficiary of Formula 1’s cultural impact on the fashion industry, they have reportedly raised over $6m in EMV.
Depending on the significance of the gender transition, some F1 teams have been quicker than others to shift their focus. Although Tommy Hilfiger has long been associated with Formula 1, with sponsorships dating back to the 90s, Mercedes-AMG made the smart move to enlist Hilfiger – one of the top rated luxury brands among women around the world – to attract the interest of women. Together, they have put together a series of fashion forward collections for men and women, including an upcoming capsule collaboration with streetwear brand Awake NY. “The growing interest and participation of women in F1 is exciting,” Hilfiger tells me. “It adds a new, fundamental dimension to motorsport. The engagement we see across our social channels proves that our consumers are interested, invested and engaged.”
In his second year McLaren fashion partnership with Reiss, the retailer has decided to scale back production of straight-up replica gear, to make way for a brand new ‘Hype’ collection of directional streetwear, leather varsity jackets and silk two-piece sets. Most of Hype is billed as unisex, but some of it sits in women’s clothing only. “McLaren’s female fanbase has grown dramatically over the years,” explains Alex Field, menswear director at Reiss. “We saw female fans customizing or clipping official items to reflect their fashion stance, so we came up with Hype as the answer. It is our best-selling and most popular collection.”
In 2021, Ferrari launched its own in-house fashion line of women’s ready-to-wear and recently negotiated a slot at Milan Fashion Week. “F1 is the new red carpet. We see Rihanna, Adam Driver, Naomi Campbell and many more seeking access to the Ferrari Paddock and recently we dressed Alicia Keys in a custom Ferrari suit,” says Ferrari style creative director Rocco Iannone. Even Aston Martin switched from Hackett to Boss, moving from a brand that caters to a male audience only, to a brand that also makes women’s clothing. The lesson here is that the merchandise market is much stronger among women, which is a stronger ’emotional’ relationship with their purchase. Brands that are recognizing female fans’ desire to display team affiliations, while also catering to looks, are taking advantage.
Nowhere is this opportunity more pronounced than in America, where women’s interest in watching sports has boomed. Its largest total audience ever almost 60 million women now watching the Super Bowl, for example. In response, the US has greatly increased its participation in Formula 1, the biggest recent success story being the Miami Grand Prix, launched in 2022 and it now has over 1.2 million views.
The unique opportunity that the Miami and Las Vegas races have for brands lies not only in the legions of female fans and celebrities present (even Michelle Obama turning up for the Miami race weekend), but in the emphasis on luxury consumerism. With the global demand for luxury goods in flux, sales figures are increasingly dependent on the whims of the uber-rich. With basic ticket packages ranging from $700 to $10,000 for the Miami GP, the grandstands are clearly rich.
Apart from women monopolizing the luxury and merchandise markets, there is a greater interest in female sports fans who are finally starting to support their own. Inside Trackreport from the women’s motor sport initiative Greater than Equal, found that 56 percent of female fans are more likely to buy from brands that sponsor women. This means that labels like Tommy Hilfiger, Charlotte Tilbury and Puma, who loudly and proudly support F1 Academy female racers, are making smart decisions for ROI.
“[Female fans] have strong opinions on what they see as the failure of sport to look and feel more diverse,” says Ali Donelly, CEO of More Than Equal. “There are huge opportunities for brands willing to invest in women.” “I believe we have a responsibility to use our platform to inspire change,” says Hilfiger. “Our partnership [with F1 Academy] It’s a big step forward towards joining Formula 1. And I believe the intersection of fashion and motorsport is here to stay.”
In the race for relevance, Formula 1 and the fashion industry are finding a powerful ally in female fans. The success of this convergence is fueled by women who bring both passion and purchasing power. And the alliance isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about influence. Women are spending with a purpose, making their financial influence a catalyst for change.
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