Press room

Ellesse Celebrates 50th Anniversary

9 January 2009

ELLESSE, the Italian sportswear brand, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion is launching a design competition that will see it collaborate with leading design partners on an international scale.

ellesse was born in Perugia, Italy in 1959. The brand was the realisation of expert tailor Leonardo Servadio, whose passion for skiing inspired him to create revolutionary designs in skiwear throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The company was named after his initials (LS - Ellesse).

ellesse moved into tennis in the late 1970s and the brand's sharp Italian style made their range an immediate success. As a testimony to this, the graphic for the ellesse half-ball logo surmounting the company name was created. ellesse then became the first brand ever to put its name on the outside of its clothes – a move copied by brands around the world ever since.

In the 1980s, ellesse sponsored the elite of the international tennis circuit including champions such as Chris Evert, Boris Becker and Guillermo Villas. ellesse also sponsored the New York marathon from 1984-1986 as well as the legendary Ferrari F1 team.

During the 1990s, the brand continued to develop sports technology with the creation of the "Magic Air" jacket – a jacket which raises its inside temperature automatically. The company also continued its well-documented support of top international sporting talent such as Anna Kournikova and Olympic gold medallist skier Jean-Luc Crétier.

In 2005 internationally renowned design duo, Eley Kishimoto brought their style to ellesse, creating prints inspired by tennis and the brand's original "Penguin" logo. The fun prints in solid colours perfectly combined British cutting edge designs, Japanese femininity and Italian style.

The brand's heritage shines through in the 2009 collections as ellesse continues to push the boundaries of sportswear - fusing iconic products from its archive combined with a futuristic twist. Known for creating iconic imagery ellesse's latest brand campaign is an exciting nod to the past and future, combining attitude and spirit coupled with a modern yet timeless appeal.

As the influence of Servadio's creative, artistic and forward-thinking approach to the original ellesse brand is still a driving force for what the company's values are today, it is fitting that ellesse is marking half a decade of Italian style with a competition to find an innovative tennis-inspired piece of design.

The categories for the competition will range from fashion and textiles, right through to fine art, sculpture, street art, graphics and digital. This is a unique opportunity for practising designers, artists or art/design students aged 17 and above, from anywhere in the world, to produce a piece of art or design for a major lifestyle brand as it not only celebrates 50 years of iconic sports and leisurewear but the start of a whole new era for the company.

ellesse is working with partners including The London Collage of Fashion and The Istituto Italia Design in Perugia to inspire entrants for the competition and world renowned illustrator and typographer, Si Scott as well as key ellesse and Pentland designer and directors who will all judge the winning entry. The prize is £3,500 and the work will be showcased at ellesse's 50th anniversary event that will take place in 2009 in the brand's birthplace of Perugia, in Italy.

Richard Newcombe, President of Ellesse Ltd said: "With ellesse's synonymy within the sport of tennis, it is fitting that ellesse will be celebrating its half-century with an incredible tennis-inspired commemorative art design competition. We hope the entrants are as excited about creating innovative ellesse-inspired ideas as we are about seeing them."