Sergio Tacchini Clothing

Sergio Tacchini Track Suits and Athletic suits

Being a pro tennis player at the tender age of 17, Sergio Tacchini was inspired to be a sportswear fashion designer. Born in Novara, Italy in 1938, Sergio Tacchini entered the Tennis Club of Milan in 1955. Proving to be a tennis wunderkind, he won the Italian Championship five years later, beating fellow Italian Nicola Pietrangeli.

Altogether, Sergio Tacchini won five singles and one doubles tournament at the Davis Cup. He also won two additional Italian titles in 1967 and 1968 in doubles, with former competitor Pietrangeli as his partner.

Tired of the boring traditional white tennis garments, Sergio Tacchini experimented with colorful and unique fabrics to create chic and gorgeous athletic apparel. In 1966, he opened Sandy’s S.p.A., which became Sergio Tacchini S.p.A. a few years later. In the 1970’s, his idea of a “vivid” tennis game was actualized when Jimmy Connor wore a colorful tennis outfit while competing in Wimbledon.

Fascinated with vibrant colored tennis wear, athletes outside the tennis world persuaded Sergio Tacchini to make outfits for other sports. Soon the brand’s tracksuits and active wear soon translated to leisure wear.

Sergio Tacchini’s active wear drew a lot of fans, including the tennis greats from the 1970’s and 1980’s. Some of them include Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Matrina Navratilova, Sergi Bruguera, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Hingis, Pete Sampras, Pat Cash, Vitas Gerulaitis, and John McEnroe. The brand also dressed Formula 1 Drivers Ayrton Senna and Carlos Reutemann, Golfer Ian Woosman, Skipper Karine Fauconnier, Skiers Pirmen Zurbriggen and Marc Girardelli, and English Cricket player Ian Bell.

Soon, the company’s unique line of athelic wear caught the attention of the hip-hop world. Popular rappers and R&B artists such as Lil Wayne, Clipse, Chris Brown and DJ Enuff have embraced the Sergio Tacchini brand. More notably, the late Notorious B.I.G. was known to be fond of wearing the label’s signature track suits both on stage and in everyday life. Currently, you can find similar athletic suits on urban streetwear retailers such as drjays.com.

Since its humble beginnings, Sergio Tacchini has expanded into a multi-million dollar empire. Currently, the company manufactures and distributes skiing, fitness, swim, golf and leisure wear in Italy.

Its clothing line specializes in men and women’s active wear such as polo shirts ($52), jackets (from $38 to $98), tracksuits (about $165), and jogging pants (about $57). Besides active wear, Sergio Tacchini also distributes leisure wear for men and women, including cargo trousers, ribbed wool pullovers, zippered pullovers, and padded jackets. The Italy-based company has also manufactured other products such as footwear for adults and kids, Eau de Toilette for Men and Women, Shower Gels, and Handbags.

Chris Brown in a Sergio Tacchini Tracksuit.

After pairing up with UK Clothing Line Burro in 2005, Sergio Tacchini collaborated with Question Air, another reputable fashion retailer based in the UK. The men’s and women’s collection brainstormed by both companies graced the runway in 2006. The collaboration gave Sergio Tacchini an opportunity to further dominate the sports wear industry with another wave of memorable designs.

Dylan Ross, founder of Question Air, had this to say about the fusion of their style philosophies: “I see the collection as the evolution of Sergio Tacchini and have been hugely impressed with how Sergio Tacchini understood the whole concept to produce a collection that is classic with a twist.”

Outside the runway, Sergio Tacchini continues to make waves. In honor of his tennis prowess, a Collegiate Invitational was created in his honor. The competition was held in Virginia and was attended by varsity tennis players from a number of universities in the United States.