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Brand distinctions
Most of the Grand Slam tournaments dropped the all-white rules decades ago, likely in a bid to attract more television viewers and advertisers in an age of increased visibility for the sport.

"Color is vital to draw the eye and especially for those sports companies to be able to advertise their logos and their colors," Jones explained.

Sports and luxury brands advertise through fashion in multiple ways, from dressing star players in custom statement pieces to promoting merchandised designs on competitors.
Wimbledon’s restrictive rules have been "frustrating" for brands trying to sell their tournament collections, kraken onion Rothenberg said. When Fila introduced Bjorn Borg throwback shirts in 2001, replicating what the tennis star wore during his five-time-winning Wimbledon streak from 1976 to 1980, Wimbledon officials said they no longer adhered to the rules. The decision sent the sports brand "scrambling" to get new shirts to the players wearing them, Rothenberg explained. And, after Federer’s orange-soled shoes were banned, Nike had to act fast to spin their brief appearance, advertising them as "One Match Wonders" in a print ad.
For players, the smallest infractions have proved controversial, and some players have outright refused to play along, as Andre Agassi did from 1988-90 when he boycotted Wimbledon entirely. In 2017, Jurij Rodionov was told to change blue underwear that was peeking out of his shirts, while Sabine Lisicki recently said that she and women were often required to switch out their skin-colored bras.

But Rothenberg doesn’t see more leniency happening anytime soon from Wimbledon’s decision-makers.

"I think Wimbledon sees its anachronisms as a big part of its brand and its value," he explained. "Wimbledon has clung on to it as a way to be distinct and different — and I think it’s largely been successful. It doesn’t look like any other tournament."

There have been criticisms levied against the major tournaments whenever women players seem to be disproportionately affected by their dress codes, and though Rothenberg agrees, he also points out that women’s styles have been more creative. Men’s tenniswear has deviated less from shorts and lightwear polos or shortsleeve athletic shirts since they were introduced.

"There’s been a lot of men’s short length getting markedly shorter over the last 12 months though, especially players who really have hiked up their shorts a lot," he said with a laugh.

"Maybe someday there will be rules against that if they start showing too much cheek."

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled a source’s surname and misstated the current name of the ASU FIDM Museum.

This story has been updated.

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