Hailed by the media for its energy and concept, the Chromat FW20 show was a breath for fresh air in a sports universe that is still cursed with inequalities and anachronistic practices regarding gender definition. The Fall/Winter 2020 collection reimagines athletics as a gender inclusive space where athletes can compete as they are.
When the Olympics were founded, women were not allowed to compete. Later, women were only allowed to participate in sports that were “compatible with their femininity and fragility,” but excluded from track and field. It wasn’t until the 1960s that women were even allowed to run the 800m race. Fast forward to present day: trans women, cis women, non-binary and intersex athletes are still punished for being ‘un-ladylike’ and some athletes are even forced into body modification and mutilation to continue pursuing their talent.
World champions like Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand are penalized and banned for not conforming to the International Olympic Committee and International Association of Athletics Federations’ narrow definition of gender, which continues to change. In protest of the stringent and exclusionary gender binary that has come to define these sporting events, Chromat hosted a Chromat Team Training Session to visualize the future of gender fluid inclusion in sport. It was definitely a strong message put across in an optimistic way and backed by imaginary, inventive design that included a collaboration with Reebok.
