Teeping Tradition: Fashion’s Unlikely Relationship With Martial Arts

When you think about it, it's not too difficult to draw parallels between fashion and martial arts. They're both arts in their own right, both boast droves of loyal followers, and both act as a form of expression in this modern age. In a world where nothing is sacred from the grasp of fashion's extended influence, it might not come as a surprise that these two entities would eventually collide, and that's what we're gradually seeing.

The rise of martial arts influence in fashion is slow, but step by step, we're seeing more and more brands start to embrace individual sports and their relevant motifs. While there seems to be no clear-cut source, you can likely put this down to the rise of martial arts in media. While we've already seen the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li pave the way for martial arts on the big screen, modern-day athletes and personas are now fuelling the latest wave of fans and media attention.

As it stands, Mixed Martial Arts as a sport is now at the point where it rivals boxing in terms of popularity, with companies like the UFC birthing celebrity icons such as Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor especially helped fuel his online presence through his flashy, often Versace-laden outfits - with the persona to match, of course. He even launched his own fashion line entitled August McGregor, though we'd imagine that might be more of a cash-grab as opposed to a passion project.

With martial arts back in the limelight, companies are now taking signatures from some of the more popular sports within the sphere. Boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai specifically are now becoming new vessels of inspiration for streetwear and high fashion brands, arguably much to the dismay of each sport's purists.

There's a certain amount of gatekeeping that happens both in martial arts and fashion alike, and as these new trends emerge and evolve, we're willing to bet that they might upset some of the traditionalists who belong to each sport. For instance, in this Reddit exchange, one user asks, "is wearing Muay Thai shorts for fashion considered cultural appropriation?" while the top commenter retorts "If I catch anyone wearing Muay Thai shorts for fashion, they better know how to check a leg kick."

Muay Thai specifically has seen arguably the most attention out of the bunch. For those unfamiliar with the sport Muay Thai or Thai boxing, it's a martial art native to Thailand famed for being "the art of 8 limbs." Practitioners use a mix of punches, knees, elbows, and kicks to fight their opponent in striking and clinched positions, with fights often ending in devastating fashion.

Unlike karate, judo or jiu-jitsu disciplines, Muay Thai fighters won't wear a gi (traditional uniform) and instead opt to wear high-waisted and low-cut shorts for maximum flexibility. These shorts are often heavily colourful in design due to no ranking system existing in the sport on a traditional level. This means fighters are given free rein to wear whatever colours, patterns and designs they choose, often resulting in bright and bold additions.

Muay Thai's first notable acknowledgement in the fashion world came in 2019 when Versace models donned a pair of shorts for the brand's Fall/Winter 2019 collection. Bright blue and silver in appearance, these shorts featured all the typical traits and motifs showcased by regular Thai boxing shorts, but to the annoyance of many, or just out of pure arrogance, the brand dubbed them 'embroidered boxer shorts.'

Naturally, the lack of credit angered practitioners of the sport, with many rushing to the comments to call the brand out on its actions. However, despite one slip-up, the Muay Thai trend didn't quite stop there. On a smaller scale, British luxury sportswear brand Cole Buxton released its own limited run of Thai boxing shorts. While made of similar materials, these shorts donned a more subdued appearance, simply made up of a solid black hue with a white waistband, and unlike Versace, the brand actually called the shorts exactly what they were.

Cole Buxton also released a separate collection of T-Shirts and hoodies bearing both "Fight Camp" and "The Art of 8 Limbs" titles. The Fight Camp designs even showcased a graphic of a Muay Thai fighter on the front, complete with a kicking stance. Amsterdam streetwear imprint Patta also recently jumped on the trend by producing two separate capsules with combat sports equipment brand Fairtex. With both Nigerian and Amsterdam-inspired designs, each short celebrated heritage as well as the brand's love for the sport of Muay Thai.

We think it's fair to say, the key to taking influence is by doing it tastefully, and while Prada didn't so much as acknowledge its source, both the Cole Buxton and Patta offerings glorified the sport of Muay Thai and all of its traits. Despite the growing Muay Thai trend, the sport of boxing has previously succumbed to the effects of fashion also.

For years now, we've seen high fashion brands romanticise pugilism for their own gain without particularly offering anything back. At this point, it's almost impossible to keep track of which fashion house hasn't released a pair of gimmick boxing gloves as a soon-to-be homeware accessory, but with that said, there are a few exceptions who are doing it right.

Just last week, boxer Ryan Garcia took to the ring for his fight against Javier Fortuna wearing a custom Dior fight outfit. The brand created both a robe for the walkout and boxing trunks for the fight, combining black, white, and blue hues along with over 3,000 Swarovski crystals for the final piece. Despite the sixth-round KO win for Garcia, his outfit stole part of the show and exists now as a positive example of what brands can do when they're trying to exemplify sports instead of plagiarising them.

In its own unique realm, we have the sport of jiu-jitsu (Brazilian, to be specific). For those unfamiliar with Brazilian jiu-jitsu or its more common moniker BJJ, it's a grappling-based art revolving around ground-fighting, joint manipulation and submission holds. In recent years, BJJ has exploded from an underground sport into the limelight due to its founder's involvement and domination in early UFC events. Now, the practice exists on a global scale and was even made a national sport by Abu Dhabi back in 2015.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners can either choose to wear a gi or no-gi, with each existing as a somewhat separate discipline. Over the last few years, we've seen a handful of brands choose to put their stamp on the traditionalist gi version, offering a form of expression for those who practice.

The first notable instance happened when Japanese brand UNDEFEATED collaborated with BJJ clothing manufacturer Shoyoroll back in 2016. The collaboration combined UNDEFEATED's classic streetwear motifs atop a range of gis, sweats and tees, creating a never-before-seen collision between the sport and streetwear.

Shortly after, workwear and street-style imprint Carhartt WIP decided to join in on the efforts by applying its durable, hard-wearing duck canvas to the BJJ brand Hyperfly's classic uniform. In addition, the duo worked together to produce a collaborative logo celebrating both brands' respective histories.

With fashion constantly evolving and seeking influence, it almost leads us to wonder just exactly which sport or which subculture will fall into the mix next. For more from this writer, check out our suggestions below!