In recent years, the golf fashion world has been going through a bit of a renaissance. On-course style has been carried over to off-course style. Polo shirts and khaki trousers have been elevated to spirited button-downs and utility pants. Brands are also becoming increasingly bold in their color and pattern choices. The lines between high fashion, sportswear and street style have become blurred, and that is reflected in the products of big name brands. While there may not be a runway show or runway week to celebrate the progress of the golf fashion world and show golfers what’s new, high fashion golf brands such as J. Lindbergh and Malbon have increased their presence on the professional tour, showing golfers watching at home the looks and trends they covet every season. With New York Fashion Week currently underway, we got to thinking: which golf brands deserve the runway treatment this season?
For those unfamiliar with New York Fashion Week, its origins date back to World War II, when Eleanor Lambert, a famous fashion publicist, fused fashion and culture with elements of American nationalism in the heart of New York City. Held twice a year in February and September, this special week showcases upcoming trends while supporting and promoting American brands. Fashion and style are constantly changing, and trends come and go. The vision of this coveted week is now broader, including designers and brands outside of the United States. More than just glamour, fashion week sets the direction for the world of style, including trends seen across apparel from the game we love. So, in the spirit of golf meets fashion week, here is a curated list of golf brands you’ll want to see on the runway at New York Fashion Week this season.
By now, we’re all familiar with Viktor Hovland’s bold styling, thanks to J. Lindberg. The Swedish fashion brand has standardized modern, sleek and futuristic designs, fusing the sharp silhouettes of fashion with the functionality of sportswear. J. Lindberg offers a fresh approach to golf fashion, with color and print at the forefront.
High fashion G/FORE is on a mission to revolutionize the world of golf style with high fashion apparel and accessories. The brand is known for its bold color palette, contemporary designs, and runway-worthy campaign imagery designed to grab attention and motivate traditional golfers to break away from outdated styles. Imagine a line of golf looks, with models wearing different colored golf gloves and maybe even heeled spikes, walking down a runway made of greens, and it feels like a dream.
The cool California brand is known for its eclectic collaborations that sell out incredibly quickly. Founded by a husband-and-wife team of golfing buddies, Malbon is the epitome of modern golf cool, inspired by the easygoing street style, laid-back California vibe, and sartorial excellence of golf’s past greats.
Bringing a West Coast vibe to golf, Californian brand Metalwood aims to reach a nostalgic fanbase of the modern golf era. From argyle sweater vests to wingtips, the vintage-inspired brand embraces the iconic era of the ’90s and early 2000s, when golf first experienced a fashion renaissance. The turn of the millennium, highlighted by the rise of Tiger Woods, explored the need to modernize golf with an emphasis on sports and performance design. Fashion is as cyclical as it is evolving; Metalwood suggests “out with the new and embrace the old” with a touch of grunge.
Founded in San Francisco by Waqar Sabbir Rana, these fashion-forward, sophisticated golf shoes are crafted from recycled sheepskin and by artistic artisans who take inspiration from patterns and textiles from around the world, all painted and imagined to bring the footprints of golfers to life. Collaborations with sustainable luxury brands like Chevalier and Radmore, or vibrant, print-forward brands like Bad Birdie, could see them stalking the streets of New York Fashion Week, trailed by fashion photographers.
For over a decade, the highly influential menswear designer has been outfitting the “modern gentleman” in luxurious fabrics and beautiful details through his eponymous brand. Collaborations with sportswear giants such as Champion, FootJoy and New Balance have resulted in golf pieces that bring a new level of understated sophistication to sportswear.
What began as an online boutique has become a hub for sophisticated bohemian design, including a line of in-house designed golfwear. Combining classic tailoring, attention to detail and on-trend patterns (think gingham two-piece sets and wildflower pleated golf skirts), these elegant looks are sure to turn heads on any runway.
While the world of golf style has made great strides in incorporating elements of high fashion, we can’t help but crave more, so we decided to highlight some of the premium brands that we think make excellent golf apparel.
Heavily influenced by 90s hip-hop culture and the urban culture of Queens, Aime Leon Dore founder Teddy Santis created a sophisticated “urban preppy” streetwear brand. Preppy meets streetwear is the crossroads facing a new generation of golfers, and ALD captures that essence perfectly. Aime Leon Dore’s aesthetic is filled with neutral tones with touches of green and blue, which are common in golf apparel. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to see Santis step into the golf world, and we’d love to see it.
This multi-functional lifestyle brand has already been making a bit of a buzz in the highly profitable golf shoe industry, and last month it unveiled the Kith for adidas Samba golf shoe, which immediately piqued our interest. Kith already does a lot well with its wide range of apparel, so we’re intrigued to see how it would come up with a small collection designed for golf. The company is experimenting with different fabrics and textures, and a range of wool mid-layers for fall and winter and nylon for summer shorts and pants would bode well for a direction for golf that will experiment beyond the traditional use of cotton.
Diane von Furstenberg’s first “wrap dress” revolutionized comfortable and elegant style for active women in the 1970s, but few know that the Belgian designer didn’t actually “invent” the silhouette, but simply refreshed the shape of the iconic American sportswear wrap style. Continuing in that transatlantic tradition, we’d love to see DVF’s colorful, whimsical, modern patterns in technical fabrics made for golf, resulting in wrap polos that are as soft and comfortable as jersey and sports dresses you’ll never want to take off.
We’re already big fans of the British designer brand’s European (i.e. trim-cut) sweaters and elegant knitted polos, which are timeless and perfect for pre-round meetings or post-round dinners in any season. We’d love to see a collaboration, with lightweight pieces designed for performance and, our real dream, a golf bag with the same classy masculinity and artful minimalism as their current line of leather travel bags.
Founded by a sister company, this American haute couture house is known for its fairy-tale, romantic, feminine patterns and silhouettes, and most recently, its athleisure ready-to-wear spinoff brand, Radarte, has produced casual-cool sweatshirts in fun tie-dye patterns and simple, airport-inspired sweatsuit sets. We’d love to see Rodarte’s distinctive, breezy floral aesthetic merged with sportswear on (and off!) the course. Think pleated, tulle skorts and lightweight, breezy polo shirts.
With the word “golf” in the name, it feels like Tyler, the Creator’s luxe, ultra-cool twin brand is eager to branch out into the golf sphere; in fact, he just launched his first Golf Le Fleur fragrance and nail polish line at a golf course pop-up, which neatly incorporates green motifs and vibes. With an already robust collection of sneaker collabs with the likes of Vans and Converse, a new emphasis on luxury staples like mohair cardigans, and an already extensive repertoire of street-style crewnecks and sweatshirts, a golf-specific line that incorporates the course’s name and aesthetic is definitely on our wishlist.
