Just want to buy a pair of Fila right now? Fila.
Fila is a brand that has always been associated with sports. It’s done so well with positioning itself in the market that when people think tennis or football, Fila is the first name that comes to mind.
Established in 1911 in Biela (Piedmont, Italy) by the Fila brothers to manufacture knit underwear for about half a century, Fila’s direction changed after Managing Director Enrico Frachey and fashion designer Per Luigi Rolando came on deck. During Frachey’s tenure from 1974 to 1979, they started manufacturing sports apparel, particularly for tennis, which quickly became the clothing of choice in Europe and America. Fila and the trademark “F” logo started popping up in sports events worldwide.
The cast of the remake 'The Firm' wearing vintage Fila
By the end of the 70s, Fila sponsorships made them a household name and the attitude that became attached to the brand and the company as a leading manufacturer of athletic and leisure shoes and clothing is still prevalent today.
Fila in young Hollywood – Booboo (of Twilight fame) with his sister Fivel Stewart both dressed in Fila after an audition
Fila first sponsored Italian players Adriano Panatta, who won the French Open in 1976, and Paolo Bertolucci who introduced Fila’s slim fit polo shirts on the courts, featuring big colored collars and a big “F” logo on the chest for the new “White Line” so named because tennis was associated with the color white.
Leading athletes worldwide have always been happy to endorse the product and that has made it a highly recognizable brand with high design and style. Starting with the ‘Ice-Man’ Bjorn Borg and ‘The Young Bull of the Pampas’ Guillermo Vilas (with his coach Ion Tirac) in 1970s, the promoters’ names are literally a roster of athletic stars.
In the later 70s, Fila branched out into the ski market first then other sports sectors afterward. They dressed champions such as Ingemar Stenmark, Alberto Tomba, Deborah Compagnoni, Grant Hill, Fiona May, Paul Tergat, Harold Solomon, and Mike Powell. The extremely tall monster server Victor Pecci from Paraguay was sponsored in the late 70s and throughout the 80s.
Kanye West chose Fila for the cover of XXL
Other prominent tennis players wearing Fila in the 70s and 80s for example were Dick Stockton (USA), Bill Scanlon (USA), Bob Hewitt (Australia), John Sadri (USA), Heinz Günthardt (Switzerland), Manuel Orantes (Spain), Nduka Odizor (Nigeria), Michael Chang (USA), Evonne Goolagong (later Cawley), Andrea Jaeger (USA), Pam Shriver (USA) Kathy Horvath and Monica Seles (back then, Yugoslavia). And of course Boris Becker, who switched from Puma to Fila in 1988. “Scream queen” Monica Seles, the world no.1 and 2 respectively in the late 80s and 90s, was Becker’s female counterpart at Fila.
Fila lost steam after the 90s but this partly also had to do with the fact that the original Italian ownership Holding di Partecipazioni sold the company to US hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management in 2003, after the company over-committed itself to expensive athletic endorsements. Cerberus owned Fila through holding company Sports Brands International, which owned and operated all Fila businesses around the world with the exception of Fila Korea, which was a separate company operating the brand under license.
In January 2007, the global Fila brand and all its international subsidiaries were acquired by Fila Korea from SBI for $400 million, which made it the largest South Korean sportswear company. Fila Korea currently holds all of the rights to the worldwide use of footwear and apparel brands of the parent firm.
In the new millennium, the company tried to re-establish itself in the tennis sector by sponsoring well-known athletes such as Kim Clijsters (Belgium), Mark Philippoussis (Australia) and Rainer Schüttler (Germany), in most recent years followed for example by Svetlana Kusnetsova (Russia), Dimitri Tursunov (Russia), Andreas Seppi (Italy), Kim Clijsters (Belgium)and James Blake (USA) . Other sponsored athletes include Stacy Lewis (golf), and the Italian Ski Team.
Paris Hilton in Seoul for Fila
Their glamorous clothing (maybe it’s the Italian heritage?) has attracted celebrities as of late. 2007 saw an appeal to the international fashionista scene with Paris Hilton becoming the latest spokesperson for Fila. When she was in Seoul for the promotional tour, she said, “I love Fila. Girls who wear Fila have great style too. I love to mix the colors. The Fila brand comes in all different colors, so I can mix and match them. My favorite color is pink, so I wore this today,” referring to the head-to-toe hot pink and gold Fila apparel she was sporting, except for her pink Chanel bag.
Top hip-hop rap group Wu Tang and New York hip-hop star NAS each had one-year contracts in 2008 to design streetwear with the sportswear giant. NAS’ release of 80s inspired jackets, shirts and high-tops were in three colorways (red, black, and white) and definitely not flashy. Wu Tang’s “Wu-Tang Weathertech” winter-ready flyboot in grey with the Wu-Tang logo on the sides is totally wearable.
The company’s become quite big on the hip-hop scene with artists like Kanye West, Nelly and Busta Rhymes seen sporting vintage Fila wear. It’s making an appearance in movies, too. Fila was spotted in different genres from the “Twilight” series to the latest remake of “The Firm.”
Fila inked a deal in 2009 for a fitness and wellness line, with yoga apparel co-designed with award winning actress Susan Lucci to be sold on the Home Shopping Network.
And 2010 forges into the younger Asian market with Korean pop groups 2ne1 and Big Bang as the newest faces for the sportswear giant with contracts also finalized in 2009. It looks like exciting times ahead for this athletic icon.
2ne1 brings in the younger market for Fila
Fila can be contacted at:
Fila Online, Inc.
1 Fila Way
Sparks, MD 21152
USA
Toll free at 1-800-845-FILA (3452)
8AM-6PM Eastern Time
Monday-Friday
www.fila.com
Purchase your own pair of Fila right now!
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