Since the early 1990s, it’s been nearly as likely to see someone decked out in a sports jersey in a music video as it is inside Madison Square Garden. What was once just a functional uniform for athletes, the sports jersey evolved into a signal of hardcore fandom only to be further transformed into a streetwear staple that transcends geographical boundaries and local allegiances. Jerseys are a style choice, an identity marker and often, a political statement. Wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey after 2016 is more a declaration of your stance on racial justice than it is a nod to his career as a 49er.
This exhibit will track the evolution of sports jerseys from a simple expression of fandom to both a coveted fashion staple and sartorial declaration of social and political allegiances. The accompanying white paper and images will explore:
- how sports jerseys reached the mass retail market in the 1970s and how subsequent mass marketing of jerseys in the 1980s furthered their popularity
- how rappers’ adoption of jerseys as wardrobe cemented them as a major component of hip hop style in the 1990s
- how (in the case of N.W.A) a team’s jersey and logo became synonymous with identity and a target for racism and bias
- why many traditional fashion brands in the 1990s (Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger) chose to incorporate branded sports jerseys into their collections while many streetwear brands centered their collections around jerseys (Sean John, FUBU, Enyce, Phat Farm)
- how sports jerseys are used as a tool of characterization in both film and television
The exhibit will track the sports jersey’s position in fashion to the present day and will examine the political connotations of some modern jerseys, the growing popularity of the jerseys of women athletes and how jerseys are currently used in high fashion.
The images in this exhibit are sourced from music videos, television and film, advertisements, museum collections and paparazzi photographs. The temporality of the images ranges from the early 1970s, when Mary Tyler Moore wore a Minnesota Vikings jersey in the opening credits of the Mary Tyler Moore Show through 2023 when Beyoncè and her daughter Blue Ivy wore matching Ivy Park jerseys during a Renaissance Tour stop.
Credits
Alexis Haut