Julian X
started becoming more widely available.
It was all about trying to find something that
was a bit more exclusive. Importance was
placed on that, but also because everybody else
was wearing the brand. For me personally, it
really wasn’t until McEnroe came on the scene,
that I was really aware of Nike. They were a
small player, and McEnroe put them on the
front page with the Wimbledon sneaker. Those
were two prime sneakers for me, the Diadora
Borg and Nike Wimbledon. They stuck in my
head. Then a little later you had the Lendl’s
and the Edberg’s, when those guys busted onto
the scene.
FILA, Ellesse, Sergio Tacchini. Back then,
they were all made in Italy and super expen-
sive. I never owned any of the FILA stuff, but
some of my friends at school, around 1983-
1984, were wearing the FILA Borg track tops
that were made in Italy. Back then, they cost
a fortune. They were really expensive. Same
with the Tacchini stuff. Over time, they be-
came cheaper because it wasn’t made in Italy
anymore. A lot of it was made of a tight-knit
wool. Over the years and decades, the fabrics
and workmanship have changed. That whole
look. McEnroe, Lendl, or Borg would walk
out onto the court and it was a whole new era
of not just playing tennis, but the way they
looked, the way the outfit was put together.
What is the connection between this “Casuals
Culture” and European tennis?
Back then, if you supported a team, all you
could really buy was