By Marcellous L. Jones

May 27, 2008



Paris , France – The French Open at Roland Garros has kicked off this season with an impressive spread of top name fashion and luxury goods brands offering for the occasion special edition garments, accessories, travel bags, watches, etcetera. And with that, many hot trends in terms of colours and athletic and sportswear for the summer can be found on the red clay courts of this tournament which brings together the most elite names in the sport.

As Paris is the world capital of fashion, so does the French Open play in important role too in helping to establish major fashionable sportswear trends for the summer. When Serena and Venus Williams hit it big, a rap/dance tune titled “Tennis Skirts” was written and could be heard on almost every urban radio station in America . Years later, trends for the general population would also still come from the tennis courts. Remember an 18 year old Rafael Nadal clad in short pants and sleeveless T-shirts when he claimed the first of his French Open titles in 2005? That summer his style was emulated by young men from Dubai to California . And who could ever forget a teenage Tatiana Golovin setting fire to the red clay courts of Roland Garros with her low-riding tennis skirts. All these tennis fashion statements found themselves immediately embraced by the streets and by youth culture.

In addition to the full rang of garments and accessorized proposed under the Roland Garros brand, fashion houses and brands as varied as Lancel and Adidas propose lines created for tournament fans. Telephone maker Sagem has for the third year created a line of telephones signed Roland Garros. Eyewear maker Alain Afflelou has created a special collection in the memory material Titane Flex for both men and women. And Swatch has created a limited ...

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