Just when “quiet luxury” has become a fad and showy luxury brands are on the way out, Gucci makes a big splash at the most conservative of tennis tournaments. Where previously, a discernible LV or Gucci logo belt was a conspicuous nod to luxury, those embracing the new aesthetic tend to opt for more unassuming creations and ditch the ostentatious logos.
But Jannik Sinner, 21, the Italian tennis player ranked eighth in the world, broke from the Wimbledon tradition Monday when he emerged on court with a custom-made duffel bag wrapped in Gucci’s “GG” monogram, its red and green straps slung over a shoulder.
This may not seem so remarkable, but if you follow tennis then you know that Wimbledon, as the most traditional of the four Grand Slam tournaments, has a strict all-white uniform requirements. (This is the first year that women playing at Wimbledon are allowed to wear non-white underwear, to ease anxiety around periods.)
Players at Grand Slams abide by a rule book that sets down in detail what they can wear and carry onto courts. There are limits on the size, placement and number of logos on their sleeves, collars, headbands, socks and, yes, equipment bags.
Many players carry both a racket bag and a personal duffel bag onto court, but typically they’re obvious athletic bags. A few hours before Sinner’s match began, for example, Novak Djokovic (ranked second in the world) walked onto Centre Court with two white bags made by Head, his racket sponsor.
Sinner’s appearance with his duffel was the first time, Gucci said, that a tennis player has been cleared to carry a luxury logo-ed bag on court. Even players beloved by the fashion world, like Roger Federer and Serena Williams, who had a close relationship with Gucci, had not done so before their retirements. For Williams’s final match last year, she carried a Wilson racket bag and duffel stamped with her own Nike monogram logo.
Sinner, whose initials also appear on his Gucci bag, was named an ambassador for the brand last July. Gucci said it worked with his team for approvals from the International Tennis Federation, the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Grand Slams, including Wimbledon, to ensure that the bag met the necessary requirements. He carried his rackets in a standard white Head bag.
Jannik Sinner does not appear to view the bag, which was made in a canvas material with a leather trim, as a serious break from tradition. In an email, he wrote that he was very fond of traditions, including Wimbledon’s dress code. For the bag’s design, he and Gucci wanted “something that could have been drawn from Gucci’s archives.”
The straps are removable and the inside contains hidden water bottle pockets. He said he’ll use it to carry a change of clothes, nutritional supplements, sunscreen and anything else he may need for a few hours on court.
Asked if he made any specific requests to Gucci, Sinner wrote: “I wanted the bag to be comfortable to carry and have enough to keep all my stuff inside. My priority was functionality, I guess.”
