The retro wave is in full effect, and brands like Gaps, Champion, and Kappa are rushing to capitalize on what would be called the return tonight's athletic wear. One brand that immediately comes to mind is Fila. For the past two decades, we've been led to believe that Fila is the last resort brand, the worst possible option on back-to-school day. If you went to high school in the early to mid-2000s, then you probably would have never wanted to be caught wearing brands like Fila or South Pole. How did Fila become hot again? What happened to them in the '90s? Let's feel their story.
The origins of this hundred-year-old brand can be traced back to Biella, a small town in the hills of northern Italy, where the company was founded by GN Severo Fila and his brothers in 1911. In its early stages, the company operated as a textile manufacturer for the townspeople of Biella. The family-owned business drew inspiration from their exposure to the beautiful landscapes of the Italian Alps and began designing artful and luxurious pieces of fabric. In 1923, the company officially established itself as a network company. This allowed the business to grow beyond the town it was established in and eventually expanded outside of Italy.
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| FILA's Original Fitness |
In 1968, Fila wisely hired Enrico Frecchi as the company's managing director. Frecchi shared Fila's vision, and the duo began work on transforming the company into a global sportswear brand. In 1971, Fila brought on Pierluigi Rolando as a creative director. He was tasked with getting the company into the booming world of tennis. Fila was bullish on tennis apparel and wanted to dominate the market. By the mid-1970s, Fila would go on to endorse numerous leading tennis players from the era, including Boris Becker, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, and Kim Clijsters. One tennis athlete that would prove crucial to Fila's global success was the tennis legend Bjorn Borg. The Swedish tennis superstar would go on to win a record-breaking five consecutive Wimbledon Championships before retiring at the age of 26. Who the hell retires at age 26? Either way, this put Fila on the world stage, and the iconic logo was seen on televisions across the world.
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| FILA Wimbledon Championship |
While it's true that Fila started out in tennis, Fila is a company that is rich in many different types of sports. Fila designs clothing and footwear for skiing, diving, swimming, sailing, cricket, and climbing. One of Fila's greatest moments was when the brand outfitted the legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner, who in 1978 climbed to the top of Mount Everest without any oxygen supply. He was the first person ever to ascend Mount Everest without oxygen, and he did it all while wearing Fila gear, of course.
For the majority of the '80s, Fila focused mostly on tennis apparel. The '80s saw the rise of the tracksuit. Before the '80s, the tracksuit was exclusive to tennis clubs, which at the time was the brand's core market. Things exploded when LL Cool J, who along with Run DMC, dropped their song "My Adidas." It helped to nationalize the adoption of what were at the time still boutique clothing brands. Yes, Adidas got most of the cake, but Fila was right behind them. Louise Cologne, the Vice President of Heritage and Trends at Fila, said, "A lot of us were high ticket price and were never targeted to young urban males, but they adopted it to be a part of their culture"
