Fila is celebrating its 110th Anniversary this year. To honor its iconic heritage, the brand is launching a special collaboration with stylist, creative director and founder of The Perfect Magazine, Katie Grand. The partnership will highlight the history, the spirit and the future of Italy’s first-ever global sportswear brand.
A creative mindset and approach have shaped Fila since it began as a family business in 1911 in Coggiola, a small town nestled in the Piedmont Hills. Initially producing fabrics and later high-end underwear, Fila transformed into a global brand. Enrico Frachey was the managing director whose creativity and resourcefulness ultimately propelled the unstoppable flux.
The brand’s sportswear evolution began in 1972. Fila was the first to bring color to the tennis court with the White Line collection, aesthetically surprising for its functional design and unconventional use of color. It sparked a sensation among athletes and fans alike, followed by innovation from Fila in mountaineering, skiing, water sports, basketball, golf, and motorsports. The brand always married a bold sense of style with the mandatory ease of movement, which is what made Fila appealing for playing sports and living life in total freedom.
Fila had special relationships with athletes across these disciplines, each pioneers and game-changers in their sport and beyond. Together with Bjӧrn Borg, Fila helped to change the way the world looked at fashion on the tennis court.
In 1978, Reinhold Messner reached the summit of Mount Everest wearing high-tech Fila mountain gear. Fila descended the slopes with Ingemar Stenmark in his race for the 1976 Garmisch Cup, skied on the snow-covered Italian slopes with Alberto Tomba and accompanied Monica Seles and Grant Hill in their tennis and basketball victories.
Fila teamed up with Grand, British stylist and cultural curator, to reinterpret a series of classic styles from the Fila archives housed in Biella, Italy. Grand explored Fila’s history, focusing on a variety of themes including Tennis, Mountain, Water, Athletics, Basketball, Golf, and Motorsports. The pieces she edited, chosen for historical value and beauty, have been reissued and redesigned with a modern update. The resulting 110th Anniversary Collection will be presented with a special video, set to debut during Milano Fashion Week in February.
