There are some sports figures who transcend the era in which they played; they’re few and far between, but they’re immortals, the ultimate hall of famers, era-defining legends, and their very names are synonymous with the sport itself. Bjorn Borg was such a character in my home country (and beyond), but on a scale almost unimaginable for two decades, it was Steffi Graf for the female game. During my Olympics trip to Brazil with adidas, I had the epic opportunity to meet, interview AND play with Steffi, who is herself a representative for the brand. It was remarkable for so many reasons! Click MORE to see and read about how we got on 🙂 (more…)
Posts tagged 'tennis'
MONREAL IN EZE
A quick little post featuring the new ‘Queens Collection‘ from one of my all time favourite Fitness Fashion houses, Monreal London. I live in fitness clothes (mostly because it’s my daily ‘uniform’ to train clients), and as such, I’m always on the lookout for revolutionary design which straddles fitness and fashion. In this latest collection from Monreal, I’ve noticed a serious advancement from tennis-wear to genuine crossover attire; pieces that are smart enough to wear for anything short of a wedding, yet still casual enough to train in, thanks to a neat, purposefully minimal aesthetic. I shot this look on my recent active escape to France, in the grounds of Chateau De La Chèvre D’Or, as well as a couple of shots in my studio. (more…)
QUEENS OF THE COURT!
Lifestyle post alert: I went along to the semifinals of the Aegon Championships at Queens Club on Saturday and despite suffering some classic British summertime showers between sunnier spells, the experience reaffirmed my love for ‘tennis-as-cardio’! The generally accepted wisdom is that you can burn c. 4-500 calories during an hour of tennis, which might not be as significant as a hardcore ‘hill-sprint’ session, but a) it’s mentally engaging so the hour races by, b) competitively compelling, c) sociable, and d) the actual calorie burn varies ALOT with factors like temperature, humidity, experience levels, player weight etc, so 500 cal doesn’t need to be the ceiling! Click MORE to see pictures from my day! (more…)
ABU DHABI TENNIS TOURNAMENT !!!
GAME, SET AND MATCHY-MATCHY !!!
As part of my recent Italian adventure, I took advantage of the breathtaking tennis court at the Il San Pietro (from my previous post HERE) to shoot some of the gorgeous, new-collection clothes from my favourite tennis fashion house, Monreal London. This post also contains my interview with the brand’s founder, Stefani Grosse, formerly senior designer at Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. I think it gives a fantastic insight into the evolution of the way we’re dressing to burn calories! Click ‘continue reading‘ for the full interview & my pictures, plus a list of what I’m wearing…
TODAY AT WIMBLEDON !!!
Just a quick little post on today’s fitness-related escapades. Unless you live under a sound-proof rock in England, you’ll know that the Wimbledon Championships are very much happening. Today I was lucky enough to watch the two players who’ve dominated Women’s tennis for nearly a decade, in action – Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova (though not against each other -yet, that’s probably one for the finals!). Both annihilated their opponents, who looked like mere canon fodder!
Both of these women are obviously elite athletes, but both also share a deep love of fashion (and indeed, fitness fashion, each with their own lines – Serena’s here, and Maria’s here) which is clearly an overall ethos that very much appeals to me 🙂 It was wonderful to see their different interpretations of style within the limiting confines of the strict Wimbledon all-white dress code; ‘deuce’, in that respect… (MORE)
PLAYING TENNIS WITH BJORN BORG !!!
As you might have guessed, I’m Swedish (well, half Swedish). Ours is a modest nation, and we don’t boast about too many international icons but one of the country’s spirit-rallying figures is undoubtedly Björn Borg; we all get behind his legendary accomplishments even though they took place long before many of our births. He’s almost the personification of the Swedish flag to the nation; a great ambassador for our national achievements.
With that in mind, it was with enormous excitement that I was recently contacted by the Björn Borg clothing line, popularised in the UK for its adventurous and quirky underwear, but very much under-appreciated for its heavyweight performance sportswear credentials. They invited me along to their SS14 press event (hosted at the Piccadilly showroom, and staffed mainly by tall, striking models – sigh), and offered some new-season samples to be reviewed. This is a dangerous juncture, and I must declare a waiver of my strict impartiality for this – I feel a certain bias, especially when the clothes’ colours are blue and yellow ;)! Read my thoughts HERE:
THE BEST OF THE REST !!!
To save these ‘fitness fashion’ images we shot in Monaco and Cannes from being confined to the lonely depths of my hard drive ( 🙁 ), I thought I’d post a series of photos which I just didn’t have space to showcase during the summer blogging frenzy! If nothing else, it’s making me think of sunnier climes whilst the rainy British winter unleashes it’s worst; but also, it reminds me that we’re only 5 months away from things warming up once again, so it’s almost time to start getting back to bikini shape 🙂 – see them all below…
MISSING SUMMER IN MONREAL…
Winter has well-and-truly hit in London – brrrr! – and now that Halloween is out of the way, the long run into Christmas is underway! I’m going to be posting plenty of ideas to help you stay on the seasonal ‘straight-and-narrow’, but in the meantime, it’s just about cold enough to get me thinking back to the summer.
In these pictures, I’m wearing another great tennis affair from my friends at Monreal London; I love the simplicity of the block white dress with the subtle blue detailing, and the elasticated rouching at the waist – comfortable, flexible and great for tennis. They were shot on the beach at Pamplonne, and Club 55 St. Tropez; to get there I stepped aboard a gorgeous specimen of a Riva ‘Super Aquarama’, and was motoring towards the restaurant at 55 knots! Once there, fresh grilled sea-bass and some fresh greens.
On this chilly London day, I REALLY miss the toasty sun of holiday, but luckily it’s only c.250 sleeps until the next dose of summer comes along 🙂
See MORE PICTURES from the day here. Faya x
BASELINE FASHION !!!
Just a quick fitness fashion post; you might remember that I promised in my earlier post Unreal Monreal to showcase some more of Monreal London‘s fabulous tennis-wear… Voila! Here are some pictures from a shoot at the Byblos Hotel in St. Tropez wearing their signature short tennis dress (which, according to WWD magazine, Victoria Beckham was the first to pick up!). This is my favourite dress of their collection! It’s all part of the continuing revolution which I think ends with sport and high fashion crossing over & it’s all for the better when it comes to our workouts!
Click MORE below to see the rest of the photos. Faya x