This article was published on September 13, 2022 and updated on November 17, 2022
Haider Ackermann x FILA wins the award for least-expected fashion collaboration of the year.
The king of impeccable fit is partnering with the sportswear giant to release an apparel collection. And while the collab doesn't drop until spring 2023, Ackermann and FILA gave us a first look at the fruits of their labor via a runway show staged in London on Thursday night.
Technicolor leggings, slouchy trackpants, and streamlined running shoes (a far cry from FILA's chunky Disruptors) debuted at the Manchester event, attended by celebs including Andrew Garfield and Chloë Moretz.
The wares on display were far flashier than Ackermann and FILA's understated teaser image — Haider himself in a white T-shirt and trousers — initially suggested.
"I was extremely surprised when I was contacted by FILA with the idea to collaborate," Ackermann said in a press release announcing the project.
"Unknown things make my heart beat faster, because I believe in the power of the unexpected, so I willingly took on the challenge. In visiting the extensive FILA archives I was struck by how elegant sportsmen were on the playing field back in the day. My aim is to elaborate on that, keeping the feeling of unexpectedness that is so important for me."
The go-to designer of celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Tilda Swinton, Ackermann has maintained a relatively low profile over the past few years, which seems to suit the slickly stylish designer quite well.
The coming together of a masterful tailor such as Ackermann and a brand known for performancewear certainly equals a surprise. How will he turn his avant-garde eye towards FILA's unfussy sportswear essentials?
Clues to what we can expect might be found in FILA's previous partnership with Y/PROJECT, another unexpected high-end collaborator. Despite the two parties' obvious differences, the collection seamlessly married Glenn Martens' conceptual aesthetic with FILA's sports heritage.
Mere days after the FILA collaboration was announced, Haider Ackermann was confirmed to be Jean Paul Gaultier's newest couture collaborator, taking the quiet Colombian designer from behind-the-scenes to center stage in one fell swoop.
