Ezine Fall 2021
Fashion Envoy
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 6,7
Letter from the Editors
The People’s Choice
8,9,10,11
12,13
Fashion History Fun Facts
14,15,16,17
Creating a Global Fashion Perspective
7 Fashion Trends that Originated from Other Places
20,21,22,23
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18,19
Working in the Fashion Industry
The Evolution of Fast Fashion
26,27,28,29
Function Trumps Fashion in Competetive Swimming
Finding Your Perfect Sneaker
32,33
24,25
30,31
Quiz: What Decade Does Your Fashion Style Belong In?
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Meet the editors Dear Reader, Thank you for choosing to read our magazine! We’re the creators of this project, and we have written about fashion and its history, with different aspects and articles based on each of our own interests. You’ll learn about fashion historians and how fast fashion is damaging the environment. You’ll learn about different types of fashion all over the world, and how clothing and footwear influences the lives of athletes. This magazine definitely took a lot of hard, sometimes grueling, work. We had to reach out to random people for our interviews, which we then conducted over phone or Zoom. We had to write feature stories that were several pages long, researching and interviewing and putting it all into an article. We had to create graphic Alternate Story Features (ASFs), even if we had never used Adobe Creative Cloud before. We worked hard to finish all the parts of the magazine, from the feature articles and graphics to the tiny folios at the bottom of each page. These five months of work took a lot of patience and perseverance on each of our parts, but we managed to create a solid final product in the end. We hope you enjoy it! Sincerely, Priya, Jolie, Aamari, and Zac
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Hi, I’m Priya, and I’m a freshman at LASA. I really don’t know what to write for this, but it can’t be that hard, can it? I’ll just state some basic facts about myself. I like reading, writing, eating, breathing, hanging out with friends, and not being stressed about schoolwork (or not being stressed in general). Thanks for reading our magazine!
Hey people, I’m Aamari, and I’m a freshman at LASA. If you know me already then good. If you don’t, you’re missing out but here are some fun facts about me. I love manga, anime, food, sports, movies, binge watching tv shows, pets, shoes, clothes, and just anything about style and fashion, and like my friend Priya already said, not being stressed.
Hello, I am Zac. Surprisingly, I am also a freshman here at LASA. I am 15 years old. I enjoy lots of things but my favorites are swimming, baking, walking (preferable with my dog), sleeping, video games, and being a discord moderator. I have one dog named Blue, and a rabbit named Nutmeg.
My name is Jolie Grogan and I am a freshman at LASA. I enjoy swimming, reading, and amusement parks. My favorite movies are The Hunger Games, Dirty Dancing and Ready Player one. My favorite books are the Maze Runner series and The Catcher in the Rye.
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The People’s Choice
How the choices of clothing you wear affect you
By Aamari Brown
A dark themed basic closet. Fashion Envoy | 8 Courtesy of Vouge.com
As you wake up, you wonder what you’re going to wear for the day. You look in your closet and find a jacket you’ve been waiting to wear. You told yourself you would only wear it on special occasions, but it’s too late for that now. As you find the outfit you’re going to wear with the jacket, you don’t like it, so you try on other things and finally decide on a simple dress. As you confidently walk out of the house, you wonder if you made the right choice on what to wear.
freshman at LASA, calls his style trendy and baggy. “I would say it’s a skater type of style,” HernandezGold said. “When I hang out with my friends, I see many people wearing baggy clothes. I feel like it’s a new style that many people are wearing. And I’ve just adapted to it and started to
Fashion choice is a big part of everyday life. It’s what starts fashion trends and A simple earth toned themed gives us the outfit. Courtesy of unsplash.com different styles of fashion we all wear. Fashion style has been wear more stuff like that.” around ever since fashion began in 1858 thanks to Maryam Abdulazeez, another Charles Frederik, the freshman at LASA, calls her godfather of fashion. There style comfortable, dark, and are many different styles vintage. you can choose from; it all depends on how you want to “I wear vintage clothing express yourself. just because I like the way it looks and fits me. Joaquin Hernandez-Gold, a I find dark colors more
appealing and comfortable to wear,” Abdulazeez said. “I get clothes in bigger sizes since I wear oversized clothing a lot.” When you go shopping, you typically have an image of what you want to buy and walk out of the store with. It could be pants, shoes, dresses, jackets, whatever you’re looking for. “The pants,” Abdulazeez said. “I never get skinny jeans. I always have to look for big and baggy pants. I usually go for the jackets because God knows I need more of those.” “When I go thrifting, the first item I’m looking for changes depending on what I need. But right now, I’m looking for lots of nice jeans, and baggy shirts or graphic T-shirts,” Hernandez-Gold said. “It does change from time to time. But usually, when I go, I’ll have a rough idea of what I want and what I’m looking for. So I’m not just walking around.” Finding your style takes time. It can be expensive as well. For Abdulazeez, she did it over lockdown. “Over quarantine, I found lots of stuff that I liked, but I don’t think I’ve found my style yet,” Abdulazeez said. “I think I’ll stick with this one for a while. There are still many things that I want to try out and wear. So
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fit me well. So that was an influence on my style as well,” Hernandez-Gold said.
A Auturmn or earth tone themed closet Courtesy of Architectural Digest.com let’s say by this time next year, I won’t even be wearing this; I might be wearing something else. So I wouldn’t call this my style.” For Hernandez-Gold, It took the span of two years. “I would say it took me probably around like two years to get clothes that I like and have a decent style to them. The biggest challenge was finding clothes that I enjoy wearing and that fit,” HernandezGold said. “Especially if you don’t have much money. You have to kind of get by on what you have already. And make the best of what you have.” Anything can affect and inspire your style. From who you’re around, whom you look up to, your religion, etc. For Abdulazeez, it’s people, and partly her religion.
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“Her name is Eve Fraser. She has good style and I take inspiration from her,” Abdulazeez said. “I wouldn’t want to wear baggy clothes all the time even though I enjoy it, you know. If I had more freedom about what I get to wear, I wouldn’t wear this; I would wear more tank tops, crop tops, and shorts. My parents are super religious and strict about the stuff so, I have to wear clothes that cover me at school.”
Style can always change, it can be instantly or in a few years. It all depends on you and what you want to do. It can be because of a personality change, a trending fashion, or inspiration. It can be anything. It all depends on you and what you want to do. “I mean, it depends on the stuff trending. Maybe if it looks good on me and trending, I might wear skinny jeans again,” Abdulazeez said. “If nothing new pops up, I’ll stick with what I’m wearing now. I don’t want to compromise what I feel comfortable in.” “I think it will be pretty
For Hernandez-Gold though, it’s social media and family. “I’ve seen a couple of people on Tik Tok. I can’t remember. But I don’t have a specific style; I look at Pinterest and other social media apps to get ideas. It took me a while to get a bunch of clothing that I enjoy. Then, my brother left for college and I got a lot of his old jeans and stuff that
A dark themed black dress. Courtesy of www. rslantext.com
Kim Kardashian in a red leather jacket. Courtesy of CelebsFirst. com because of a personality change, a trending fashion, or inspiration. It can be anything. It all depends on you and what you want to do. “I mean, it depends on the stuff trending. Maybe if it looks good on me and trending, I might wear skinny jeans again,” Abdulazeez said. “If nothing new pops up, I’ll stick with what I’m wearing now. I don’t want to compromise what I feel comfortable in.” “I think it will be pretty different. I think I will
reflect on what people are starting to wear more.” Hernandez-Gold said.
kids that just puts anything on in the morning and goes to school.” Hernandez-Gold said.”
Whether you have a style you like or not, how you dress reflects who you are as a person and your personality. It tells people about you without them knowing you. Some people think it does; some do not.
Finding your style is a journey that can lead anywhere. Only you can do it, though. Yes, people and ideas can influence you, but it’s your final decision that matters. You can wear what’s popular and fit in, you can wear what makes you comfortable, or you can be different and stand out. It all depends on what you want to do. Just make sure it’s the right one for you and not for someone else.
“I wouldn’t say it does. It kind of shows who I am. But at the same time, it may not. It’s just about me wanting to show people that I can dress and, I’m not like one of the
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Fashion History Fun Facts By Aamari Brown
The one to be considered the mother of fashion is Jeanne Lanvin. She started her fashion career working for a milliner. She had a daughter and wanted to give her the best clothes in the world, which led to her children’s’ fashion clothing line. Then, she created her women’s clothing line. Milliner- A person who designs, makes, trims, or sells women’s hats.
The father of fashion is Charles Fredrik Worth. He was the very first fashion designer from 1826 to 1895. He went from being a draper to setting up a fashion house in Paris.
Draper- A dealer in clothes and sometimes also clothing and dry goods.
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“Fashion Historians are important because they help us remember the fashion of the world. Clothing has been important ever since they were created. They blew up when certain people made them popular.” -Mood Sewciety
The first official fashion week started in 1943 in New York.
There are 40 Fashion Weeks and 100 events.
The creator of clotes is Manfred Kayser, ad Mark Stoneking. anthropologists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, conducted a genetic analysis of human body lice that suggests clothing originated around 170,000 years ago.
The study of human societies and cultures and their development. Fashion Envoy | 13
CREATING A GLOBAL FASHION PERSPECTIVE HOW GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY INFLUENCE, FASHION, CULTURE, AND WORLD VIEWS
BY PRIYA KUMAR
A woman in the early 1900s, displaying fashion common of that time (left). Side to side with a sculpture wearing an ancient Greek chiton (right), the influence of Greek and Roman fashion on early 20th century Western attire is clearly visible. Photos courtesy of worldhistory.org (right) and royconnection. com (left).
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When people think of fashion, the first thing that comes to their mind is largely influenced by location. Depending on where a person lives, fashion might mean something different to them based on the kind of fashion that is endemic to a certain area. But throughout the twentyfirst century, the world’s cultures, countries and communities are sharing things unique to them with the rest of the world. This includes fashion — certain clothing items or trends from certain areas are spreading around the world, influencing global fashion designers. Trish Cunningham, Associate Professor of Popular Culture Studies at Ohio State University, believes that fashion can be influenced by a person’s culture, but is also very individualistic. “Today, anything goes, and you’re seeing people… using things from the past, things from their own heritage to make [their creations] unique,” Cunningham said. “Today, fashion, there’s not one look… and I have the opinion that real fashion is what individuals choose to wear.” Modern fashion is more individualistic, more progressive and has more
global influences. This includes the influence that America has on other countries around the world. American fashion is rather casual, and, like America itself, represents a modern, free world. Historically, fashion has been thought of as mainly European and Western. Non-Western countries are influenced by this, because society may not value their fashion as much as American or European fashion.
“It’s a myth and a fallacy that fashion is only European, Western. And it’s a myth and a fallacy that it originated in any particular time and place... The trend now is to do this, to have a more global perspective, and a more conscious perspective.” -- Abby Lillethun “People [from nonEuropean countries] would feel happy, as they wear these clothes that came from America and Northern Europe, and felt that they were participating,” Abby Lillethun, Professor and Chair of the Department of Art and Design at Montclair State University, said. “So divorced from their
tradition, but part of their participation in the modern world was to wear clothing from the West. Without thinking about imperialism, and colonization, everything, they were just happy to be participating and wearing what other people in the world were wearing.” This comes from a historical importance of Western culture, and that extends to America as well. “At a certain point, it just occurs to you that this is wrong,” Lillethun said “It’s a myth and a fallacy that fashion is only European, Western. And it’s a myth and a fallacy that it originated in any particular time and place.We were taught as we were going through college and graduate school that it’s one system, the European system, right? That’s associated with a capitalist society, with the ability to move up or down in the social status, and, of course, constant innovation and awareness of fashion. But… the trend now is to do this, to have a more global perspective, and a more conscious perspective.” America does not just influence other countries’ fashion. Other countries influence American fashion, both historically and currently. Linda Welters, Professor of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design and Director of the Graduate Program at the University of Rhode Island, explains.
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“The opening for the American fashion exhibition that’s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art… The theme was American fashion. But many people who went there, dressed up in their evening clothes, did not choose American fashion,” Welters said. “They chose Balenciaga, they chose Louis Vuitton-- French designers, they didn’t choose American designers. That was odd, I thought.” Even historically, there are examples of American designers being influenced by, and in some cases nearly copying designs from other parts of the world. “There’s this one really interesting dress by a designer named Jessie Franklin Turner,” Welters said. “She found this one Indian blouse that she liked with little birds on it, and used it to create two different dresses that are now at the Metropolitan Museum… Is that cultural appropriation or is that inspiration from another culture’s design?” That is the question; in a globalized world, is influencing and borrowing from other cultures’ fashion cultural appropriation? “If we don’t have open exchange, and the opportunity to use things that humans are exposed to, then we’re going to limit progress,” Lillethun said. “I believe [it’s] only inappropriate when it’s sensitive material, like a religious, spiritual symbol, such as something that’s culturally significant and is used for profit.” Fashion has also
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taken influence from other cultures when a country has gone through a political or social change similar to that of another culture, even from a different time period. “You look at circa 1800, Paris and London looked at what was going on in archaeology and it kind of fit with what was happening culturally, because they were moving towards democratic governments,” Welters said. “So why not pick up something that looked like ancient [Greek] dress? Is that cultural appropriation? Or is it the right thing to express where fashion, where society is going?” Fashion is all about expression. It can
A dress by Jessie Franklin Turner, created 1925-1930, bears silk cloth reminiscent of traditional Indian designs. In 1923, Franklin admitted to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper that this dress was inspired by an East Indian garment covered entirely in handembroidered duck designs. Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum.
be personal expression, cultural expression, patriotic expression, etc. But clothing is also affected by habitat. Nowadays, with many people living in urbanized communities, that is not as apparent. However, American fashion has adapted to new environments, often through inspiration of those who have been living in the environment and have already adapted. Nowadays, with many people living in urbanized communities, that is not as apparent. However, American fashion has adapted to new environments, often through inspiration of those who have been living in the environment and have already adapted. “There was a deer skin hunting shirt that was adapted from skin garments [from deer’s skin]. For people who are out, doing active things, travelling on horseback, they wore that sort of thing,” Welters said. “It’s actually a fusion garment. Because it’s a Westernized shirt, but it’s using indigenous materials.” Welters mentioned another example of indigenous garments being used by Europeans because they were better adapted to American terrain-- moccasins. Minnetonka moccasins, based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, were recently accused of culturally appropriating the indigenous-designed shoes. But appropriation in fashion does not only have to be one culture appropriating another. It can also be a certain aspect of a country. Again the question is raised —
In 2020 and 2021, Minnetonka moccassins apologized for culturally appropriating indigenous moccassins. Historically, mocassins were preferred by European settlers as they were more adept to the North American landscape than European shoes were. Photo courtesy of Minnetonka moccassins. cultural appropriation or cultural inspiration, especially if it’s from your own country? “I remember when the United States was first in the Middle East. And they were out in the desert areas,” Cunningham said. And so the camouflage clothing was brown, and that camouflage clothing was appropriated by high fashion, you see high fashion garments that included that camouflage fabric. And we’re talking about couture fashion, so that’s the ultimate appropriation.” Historically, fashion has constantly involved borrowing from and being inspired by other cultures. Although this is more prevalent in a modern, globalized society, it is not a new
phenomenon. But inspiration and appreciation of other cultures is not a problem. In fact, there is a concept called cultural authentication. It is not appropriating cultures, but rather the transfer of something from one culture to another.
“[Cultural authentication] was developed around an African practice in Nigeria, using textiles from India, Madras cloth from Madras,” Lillethun said. “They took something that they were exposed to, they renamed it, [and] gave these textiles a name. They did something to them by removing threads, and then they incorporated it into their life. So, it’s those four steps: selection, renaming, incorporation, and alteration.” “We have to influence the people in universities to change the way they’re teaching… There are people in academia now who are interested in broadening the approach… I hear it more now from other colleagues about how to be more inclusive, which should start with not teaching fashion history just from the Western point of view. It should be a global point of view,” Welters said. There are several organizations, including Decolonization of Fashion, that are dedicated towards creating a more global view of fashion. Many scholars, including Lillethun, Welters, and Cunningham, have written books on the subject, both about American fashion and about the globalization of fashion.
“We have to influence the people in universities to change the way they’re teaching… There are people in academia now who are interested in broadening the approach… I hear it more now from other colleagues about how to be more inclusive, which should start with not teaching fashion history just from the Western point of view. It should be a global point of view.” -- Linda Welters
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seven american fashion trends that originated in other places By Priya Kumar
Did you know eyeliner is actually from ancient Egypt, or that nose rings originated from two different places? Several of these fashion items have been incorporated into American fashion. Here are seven fashion trends, popular in America but created from places all over the world!
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CORSET (Fr has been in modern Ame but has its century Fra from Ecoph
PARKA (Russia and United States) Yes, technically this is an American trend, but the parka was created by indigenous Inuit and Nenet tribes in the Arctic. information from Brittanica)
PONCHO (Chile
The poncho is a common tren in America, bu originated in Argentina, Me Brazil, and C particularly Chilean Mapu (information Ecophiles)
rance) The corset ntegrated into erican fashion, origin in 19th ance (information iles)
e)
s nd ut n exico, Chilethe uche from
BLUE JEANS (Italy) Jeans are often associated with casual American fashion, but blue jeans originated in Genoa, Italy-- hence the name blue jeans (information from Ecophiles)
EYELINER (Egypt) Eyeliner is popular all over the world, not just in the U.S., and it had its origin in ancient Egyptian cultures, also originating in Western Asia (information from BBC)
KIMONO (Japan) The kimono is pretty obviously Japanese, but American fashion has transformed it into the popular kimono cardigan (information from Ecophiles)
NOSE RING (South Africa and India) Nose rings originated both in India and in the Berber and Beja tribes of South Africa (information from Ecophiles)
This image is was taken at Buffalo Exchange’s Nashville, Tennessee location. Buffalo Exchange is a thrift store chain that has been around since 1974. Photo courtesy of Buffalo Exchange.
WorkiNg in tHE Fashion Industry By Jolie Grogan A look into the lives of the people behind the fashion business Fashion Envoy | 20
The lights are on. The cameras are flashing. Models are running to their spots. Your designs are everywhere you look. After months of hard work, Fashion Week is finally here. You glance at the crowd outside. Millions of faces, waiting to see your work. Suddenly a hush falls over the frenetic crowd. It’s time. All of your hard work is finally put to the test. You watch as models walk down the runway, nervous for the crowd’s reaction. It’s a huge success. You go home and fall asleep. When you come to work the next day, everyone is running around, rushing to get next season’s designs together in time. This is a shared experience of many fashion designers. The fashion industry is hectic and flawed, but exhilarating and rewarding. Jade Lai is a fashion designer and owner of Lai Lai, a project space based out of Chinatown in New York. Lai has had many experiences like this and has had a complicated experience with the fashion industry. Lai began her business in 2005. Since then it has grown tremendously and
Above is a photo of Jade Lai, founder, and owner of Creature of Comfort, posing for Vogue. Creatures of Comfort was founded in 2005. Jade Lai has designed clothes featured in Fashion Week. Photo courtesy of Vouge.
her work has been in New York Fashion Week several times. Lai still owns this company but has recently taken a step back with the intensity of the business.
going to architecture school and then deciding the architecture world wasn’t for her. She worked in Hong Kong for a good amount of time but found the work environment Lai said getting into depressing and Lai soon fashion was very natural decided to move back to and that when she was LA to pursue work in growing up, her family the fashion industry. was in fashion and her She began her business dad owned a clothing in 2005, and in 2006, Lai company. started an online website. Lai intended to start Lai was born in Hong Kong a boutique with unique and moved to Los Angeles designers from all around at a young age. She the world, who weren’t the decided to move back to mainstream designers that Hong Kong and work in set you saw in every store. design for a while, after
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“Within a year we got a lot of attention because it was something that was so unusual on the market that nobody’s seen,” Lai said. After a while, being a retailer in LA wasn’t fulfilling for Lai and she decided she wanted to look to open a store in New York. After finding a cheap, abandoned space, Lai began renovations. The store quickly grew in popularity and Lai was searching for something more than what she was currently doing. “I decided that I want to start a small collection,” Lai said. “It started out just being very simple. Basically t-shirts and a couple of dresses.” As business began to grow, so did the collection. “Instead of just t-shirts we started doing pants and then we did sweaters. Eventually, we started going into New York Fashion Week and started being on the calendar every year. We first started doing two seasons, and then we would do three seasons a year, and then it just grew from clothing to handbags, shoes, and
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then at some point, it just became this giant animal.” After expanding to a bigger second location, and starting New York Fashion Week, the store became increasingly popular and a much bigger operation. Pieces were added to the collection, and they started doing lots of big events. The collection even expanded past clothing. More people were hired, to keep the operation running. “Eventually I just got sick of the cycle,” Lai said. The fashion cycle has a very strange timeline and can be stressful for lots of designers. “You created the real Winter Collection in the middle of July,” Lai said. “The cycle was really, really off and it just makes no sense.”
then the collection goes into the showroom. But then the next day, you know, maybe we’ll have one day off, but the next day, I’m already back in the studio, doing the next collection,” Lai said. A problematic aspect of the fashion industry is that the fashion industry that is each collection becomes essentially worthless and goes on sale immediately after a new one comes out. This all became too much and after 13 years, Jade Lai decided to take a step back. “Once the item hits the floor, it’s worth nothing. So I just feel like something needs to change. My new model is we are building this Core Collection, which is something that they would produce every season. And that never goes on sale.”
As soon as you would finish one collection, you would be expected to produce the next.
With this new core collection, Lai can focus more on designing clothes and doing the parts she loves, without all of the stress and pressure of the fashion industry.
“We finished the fashion show, which is the day that we present a collection and show the world our collection, and
“I don’t need to worry,” Lai said. “Whenever people come they can buy it at any time of the year. And then when I feel like it,
I will make a couple of things and put it in the collection.” The team has been cut back, and most of the workers are freelance. The operation is more enjoyable, and Lai can do what she loves, which is creating art, through designing and painting. Alma Dodson is a successful online boutique owner. Her business is called Alma’s boutique. “The challenge was just starting and trying to figure out how I was going to get our boutique name out there,” said Dodson. A big challenge for people that own online businesses is getting attention and really building a well-known brand. Dodson found social media to be the best and most efficient way to get her brand’s name heard.
of materials to make it your own. It’s very expensive. My whole point was I initially was that I was gonna support other boutique designers and have them in my shop and know when I can grow enough I will have my own label, but that hasn’t quite happened yet.” Designing clothes is very expensive and the whole industry is very hard to make it in. Right now Dodson has been successful with selling other designers’ clothes but is still trying to work her way into the world of designing. Jessica Pruitt is the Associate Manager of Marketing for Buffalo Exchange. Pruitt has a lot of insight and experience in another side of the fashion industry, which is secondhand clothing.
“Fast fashion will probably always exist in “Initially, my plan was some capacity because it’s, to eventually get to well, fast and convenient, a point where I could but I think the private label or design, popularity of secondhand but I’m not quite there shopping will continue to yet. I’ve also learned by grow and will eventually doing a bunch of research take its place!” that you have to buy a ton of clothes or a ton Pruitt believes that
Above is an image of a model for Alma boutique in one of the dresses the company sells. Photo courtesy of Alma Boutique. secondhand shopping is a growing part of the fashion industry and is slowly taking over. This could make a huge difference environmentally and it could affect the lives of the future designers. Although the fashion industry is flawed it contains lots of history. It is quickly changing and so are the lives of the people involved in it.
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The Evolution of Fast Fashion Fast Facts about fast fashion
By Jolie Grogan In 1963 one of the top fast fashion brands ZARA was founded. Another top fast fashion brand is H&M which was founded in 1946.
The world clothing and textile industry has reached over $2,560 trillion.
One kg of chemicals is needed to produce One kg of textiles. Fashion Envoy | 24
10% of global carbon emmissions come from fast fashion.
60% of those who labor in the global fashion industry are children under 18 years old.
The clothing industry produces 400% more clothes than 20 years ago.
An equivalent of one garbage truck of textile is wasted every second.
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Function trUMps fashion in competitive swimming How manufacturers changed competitive swimming with new swimwear designs One of the s y a ac H most widely
viewed races at By Zthe 2021 US Olympic
Team Trials featured Kayla Han, the youngest swimmer at the trials having just turned 13. She stepped up to the starting blocks wearing only a normal, one-piece, non-technical practice suit. Her competitors were wearing the latest, most advanced technological suits stretched tightly to their knees. She swam from behind to win the 400 Individual Medley B-final, beating many far experienced swimmers who had an obvious advantage. It begged the question of whether tech suits enhance the performance of swimmers. The simple answer is yes. The launch of a new racing suit, the Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer, also known as the Supersuit, transformed swimming, shattering world records. Between 20082009, over 200 new world records were achieved in swimming, rewriting
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the records in 69 of the 82 events that the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) recognizes. The Supersuit was a fulllength bodysuit with polyurethane panels, ultrasonically welded seams, and a zipper that compresses the swimmer’s body into a tight, streamlined tube. Buoyancy from the polyurethane panel reduces drag because the swimmer has less friction the higher they are above the surface of the water. Some of the records made while wearing the Supersuit are considered to be unbreakable even today. After the 2009 World Championships, FINA banned the Supersuit from competitions, likening wearing the suits to “technological doping”. Mike Varozza, the head coach and owner of Waterloo Swimming in Austin, has been involved in swimming for 44 years and made a Masters
world record wearing a Supersuit. “It was mainly the buoyancy [which] was why these got eliminated,” Varozza explained. “They did a study where they took a four-pound weight, they put [the Supersuit] on the water and put the weight on and it didn’t sink” FINA realized the impact suit design had on swimmer performance. They created rules to prevent new competition suits from becoming too extreme. Swimmers today can only wear textile woven suits that limit the amount of coverage from the knee to navel for men and from the knee to shoulder for women. Coleman Hodges is a former competitive swimmer and has been an assistant coach at numerous clubs over the past 10 years. He is currently the production manager at SwimSwam, the most read swimming magazine in the world, and produces 90% of
t d g k l b “ r t 2 t
their video content. Hodges discussed what the next generation of racing suits, known as tech suits, looked like following the Supersuit ban. “So the really high tech, really super buoyant suits that came out in 2008 [and] 2009, banned in 2010, those set the stage for the tech suits
that we have now because they were super buoyant and they were very [compressive],” Hodges concluded. “And so then moving forward I think companies were trying to emulate that within the restrictions that FINA set.” After FINA banned the Supersuits, suit manufacturers returned
to their original textile swimsuit designs developed prior to the ban that was compliant with FINA regulations. Varroza provided some background on textiles used for competition suits. “[In the]70’s and early 80s, it was nylon only. Then in the 80s, Lycra came out and that was the material that
This image shows a digitilized version of Michael Phelps. Upon request, can initiate a lap in a virtual pool using a digitized version of any athlete in the system. Image by ANSYS/Speedo
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Swimmer Aaron Gordon wearing the American Tyr Venzo tech suit worn by the top swimmers at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo courtesy of Swim-Cloud taken at the 2021 Texas Age Group Swimming Championship. was being used as it was tighter on the body and just fast,” Varozza described. These textile racing suits weave together fine microfibers of nylon and spandex, materials that are extremely light-weight and hydrophobic, repelling water and reducing drag. Blending compressive, textured, and durable materials with thin or flexible fabrics makes an outstanding racing suit. The suits hug the body to create compression which streamlines the swimmer’s body to reduce form drag and minimize the entry of water between the suit and body. The compression increases blood circulation with leads to improved
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oxygenation and faster removal of lactic acid and toxins. Hayden Henry was a competitive swimmer who swam for 18 years, from the age of four through college where he was a member of the University of Texas swim team that won three national championships. He is now a sales associate at D&J sports and he shared his extensive knowledge about tech suits with me. “In my experience, the compression is the biggest factor people are looking for in a tech suit,” Henry claimed. “It helps keep the lactic acid out of your muscles as a secondary effect and it affects buoyancy.” Varozza likewise believes that high compression is important for a tech suit. “The compression that [the suit] gives tightens everything so that it takes longer for your muscles to break down and so you can swim faster [and] further,” Varozza said. Although compression is a great thing for tech suits, swimmers found that too much compression negatively impacted their races. Henry explained the downside of a suit being too compressive. “Part of that is going into fit and flexibility… That’s kind of the trade-off with the compression. The more compression the suit has the less flexible,” Henry
explained. “The Fast Skin 3. It’s the greatest failed experiment in tech suits ever. It was incredibly tight, uncomfortably heavy, and thick… So that would be the point of diminishing return for compression because it also tore often, the seams would split as you put it on.” Hodges shared a story about an elite swimmer who just missed the 2021 Olympic team that also illustrated the downside of too much compression. “[Carson Foster] swam his 400 IM at Olympic trials. He got third in that race and died pretty badly on the back half of it. And so then a few weeks later in practice, [Foster] was doing some suited swims and he was in the water and said
The TYR Venzo has an elaborate internal taping system which provides many benefits. Photo by Zac Hays
‘I can’t really feel my legs’ and he was in the same suit he’d worn to trials,” Hodges recounted. “That suit was too compressive. And so then he put on the size up and then he went the worldleading time in the 400 IM, which would have won Olympic gold.” Racing suits today are almost completely seamless, a design feature that decreases the amount of drag and allows for a tighter fit. The seams that do remain are placed in various directions and locations throughout the suit to maximize support. It creates lots of compression without having to add tighter fabric that could hinder circulation. “The seams went away [in tech suits]. And so anytime you have [seams], it’s extra drag,” Varozza explained. “And so basically what the suit manufacturers move towards is the elimination of drag on their suits.” Taping also is another design feature in today’s tech suits. Strategic placement of tape inside the suit connects muscle groups together allowing them to work more efficiently improving their power output. “When you get one of these [suits] on and it’s really, really tight, it does help your legs snap back to the center. You know, if your dolphin kicking, [the suit] suddenly halves your effort,” Henry mentioned. Newer suits are also using
external taping which causes a lifting effect in your legs and hips. Hodges explained how the buoyancy from taping helps in a race. “That’s why you wear a tech suit because at the end of the race, when you get tired, your hips naturally start to sink in the water. Your body position is thrown off, which slows you down. And if you can keep your hips high in the water which tech suits help with a lot, then you finish your race faster,” Hodges said. After engineering these high-tech tech suits, fashion does enter into the equation, with some manufacturers more serious about it than others. One company that has excelled on the fashion side is TYR. Hodges explained how TYR gained a lot of popularity with its design. “I think they [TYR] did something very radical and very different with their color patterns. Not just your typical stripes, polka dots, or solid color. They just went for that pattern. It’s very unique.” Hodges continued on regarding the mental effect of the design, “If you’re wearing a suit or a color that you really
freer, and you’re going to be able to have fun with your race a little more.” Varozza explained how a swimmer feels about a suit, its fit and appearance affect how a swimmer performs. “So it came down to personal preference and there’s an old saying in swimming that 80% of it is mental and 20% of it is physical,” Varozza emphasized. “And, you know, I think that had a lot to do with why folks were choosing what suit over the other.” However, there is a design issue that affects racing suits today. Manufacturers face a trade-off between fabric weight and durability. Henry brought up one of the biggest problems with the suits. “These [tech suits] also have a very short lifespan. You’re getting maybe three or four meets out of these before you need a new one,” Henry told me. This can become very expensive for swimmers. Based on retail sales, Henry detailed how the prices for tech suites range from $150 at the low end up to $600 for the most advanced suits.
The first generation of the Super Suit that was introduced in 2008, owned by Mike Varozza. Photo by Zac Hays
The tech suit manufacturers introduce new innovations in their racing suits with every Olympics. They continue on their quest to build the perfect suit, pushing FINA rules further and further striving to design the next Supersuit.
confident, then, then you’re going to race, a little more
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finding your PERFECT SNEAKER A Guide to Finding Your Perfect Sneaker By Zac Hays
1.
KNOW YOUR FEET
Arch Type Ankle Type Size Fashion Envoy | 30
Flat
Under Pronate
Normal
Normal
High
Over Pronate
2. CHOOSE YOUR STYLE Running
Hiking
Turf
Basketball
3. PICK YOUR BRAND Nike
$24.2B $15.1B
Adidas New Balance
$3.2B
ASICS Puma
$2.9B
Under Armour
$2.9B $1.1B
Additional Tips:
*Try on shoes at the end of day when your feet are largest *Leave a thumbnail space at the front of the toe box *The most popular brand may not be the best fit for you Fashion Envoy | 31
Quiz: What Decade Does Your Fashion Style Belong In? Yes!
START HERE! What kind of clothes do you look for when you go shopping?
Bell bottoms, headbands, bright colors, and flowers!
Which pattern do you prefer?
Big hair, heavy makeup, and lots of denim! I want a perm! Skinny jeans, a lot of heels, and crop tops!
Which hairstyle do you love?
Pick a type of jeans!
No patterns for me-plain old colors will do!
Iron straight hair!
Pixie cut!
I love wide jeans! Ripped jeans all the way!
Skinny jeans are my thing!
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YOUR FASHION STYLE BELONGS IN THE
1960s!
Flower crowns: Yes Or No?
Totally psychedelic!
Your fashion style belongs in the
No!
1970s! Hair scrunchies: Yes Or No?
No!
No!
Yes!
Your fashion style belongs in the
Little picture patterns!
1980s! Spandex: Yes Or No?
Yes! Grunge: Yes Or No?
Yes!
No!
Your fashion style belongs in the
No!
2010s! Bomber jackets: Yes Or No?
Your fashion style belongs in the
Your fashion style belongs in the
2000s!
1990s!
Yes!
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