Can summer begin in earnest without Wimbledon? This year, it will have to, with The Championships cancelled for the first time since World War II, much to the dismay of sports fans everywhere. Fashion aficionados may also be mourning the sartorial gap—think Venus Williams in a flapper-esque dress in 2010 or Maria Sharapova’s tuxedo two-piece in 2008.
Announced in early April, news of the cancellation came at the time of the strictest U.K. lockdown guidelines. A month later, when Boris Johnson lifted some rules, every tennis court in London was immediately booked out for the foreseeable. After weeks of sweatpants and 5 o’clock Negronis (shaken-not-stirred, Tucci style), tennis players were one up on the rest of us, smugly meeting friends to play singles.
Fashion was predicted to be the sector of the economy worst hit by the global pandemic. The fitness industry? It flourished. Nike reported a 36 per cent digital sales increase and all of sudden you could FaceTime your personal trainer or attempt a Barry’s workout through IG Live. The options are seemingly limitless.
The lucky few who snapped up a tennis court spot were looking for an outfit upgrade too. Cue Jupp Sport, a new British luxury tennis apparel brand founded by tennis coach and former junior tour player, Maddie Jupp.
Jupp grew up playing tennis, encouraged by her father. “It started with him trying to get us out of the house at the weekend to exercise,” she says. “It turned out I loved it and happened to be good at it.” There were a few years off the court: aged 17, she moved to London and worked in events and fashion. But tennis eventually took over; Jupp took up coaching and ended up training children in Spain.
Spending most of her days in sportswear, she became aware of the gap in women’s tennis apparel: “It was always the same clothes and same brands, quite boring and frumpy”. Jupp was after elegant, simple apparel that provides optimal comfort, yet there was nothing that excited her on the market, so earlier this year, she launched her own brand.
“I wanted to make sure that the garments weren’t just something you kept in your bottom drawer along with your other sports clothing,” she says. Jupp believes in conscious shopping: instead of offering trendy pieces that last a season, she focuses on apparel to wear for years. Quality was her biggest concern: when she began working on the first collection, she did five rounds of sampling at a factory in northwest Portugal until she was certain of the product. “Nike and Adidas and other brands like them—they are the fast fashion of sportswear. It is cheap and something that I wanted to steer away from, instead producing high-quality garments that could be worn on and off court.”
Jupp’s first collection features nine pieces, heavily influenced by a ’70s aesthetic. There are leggings, skirts and tops in navy and white. The Jaguar dress, retailing at £95, features a classic v-neck and a pleated skirt. “I never found a tennis dress that I found flattering or felt confident in—they were always tight around the chest and stomach, so I thought a lot about the design factors.” As someone who spent her life playing the sport, Jupp is definitely well-versed in how to bring A-game to her female customers: “I know how annoying it is when things rise up; I spent so much time feeling uncomfortable on the court. With the brand, I want to make sure there is no distraction while you are playing, that is my USP.”
Her debut collection has been a success. It was quickly picked up by a global clientele, with many customers ordering from New York. “I thought it was maybe going to be more L.A., but New York seems to be where people seem to love it.” There is a plan for a pop-up shop there, once the borders open up again.
A small British brand, Jupp Sport will focus on producing a few items linked to big sporting events and holiday seasons. The founder is playing with the idea of keeping items limited, producing a capsule collection of bestsellers in the future. “We definitely don’t need four collections a year,” she laughs.
Jupp Sport
