By the end of the first day at Milan Fashion Week, it became clear that the Olympic spirit had won over a crop of brands, with many showing that day openly or subtly referencing the Winter Games sports, zeroing in on performance activewear or performance-inspired fashion.
Reclaiming ownership of that space as the official partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee, sportswear giant Li-Ning hosted its one-off show in the city, mounting a ski station inside an industrial venue, complete with chairlifts that provided the audience with the perfect background for viral videos.
Even the maverick martial artist, actor and filmmaker Jackie Chan marveled at the set as he whisked in last-minute to attend the runway event, which included a new iteration of the ongoing collaboration Li-Ning Glory x Jackie Chan.
The co-ed collection opened on gorpcore galore, filtered through a urban and utilitarian lens. For women, nylon pleated skirts featuring fastening straps worn with base layers, while leotards mingled with padded miniskirts and windbreakers. Duster coats with matching pants layered over rain jackets and relaxed suits for men, or overshirts with matching pants, lent a techy, nerdy look.
As an urban-leaning, lifestyle expansion of the brand’s athletic roots, called Li-Ning Glory, it somehow lacked an original identity but provided great padded parkas, technical underpinnings useful in case of a city snowstorm and a nylon bralette nodding to mountaineering backpacks – as cool as it was useless.
The show segued into full-on sportswear, where the Chinese brand – founded in 1990 by the namesake champion gymnast – proved its forte. Models descended from the frosty tip of the imposing mountain standing at the top of the runway and strut the snow-covered catwalk wearing ski and snowboard suits in a variety of silhouettes – cropped and bulky, anorak-style, inspired by drawstring field jackets, or accented with faux fur. The range included some handsome pieces decked in aurora-inspired hues referencing the signature colorways of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
There were also interesting voluminous parkas, knitted polos, turtlenecks bearing graphic motifs inspired by so-called bloke-core aesthetics, fabulous padded headwear, and puffer jackets with matching technical pants and sweatpants, for a coordinated look on the slopes and après-ski.
“The goal is not only to create a memorable elevated experience, but to reflect Li-Ning’s longstanding commitment to promoting sports and the spirit of continuous breakthroughs through design and storytelling,” said Colin Li, the brand’s executive director and a second-generation member of the founding Li family, in a preview with WWD.
Not everyone is a pro athlete, but as fake snowflakes started to fall during the finale, many in the audience were surely daydreaming of their next ski trip.
