Inspired by Roger Federer, and tennis’ next generation, Shingo Arai and Keita Kobayashi, at BEAMS, reveal the shared sensibility behind the collaboration.
Words by Jack Stanley. Photography by Gabriel Stokes.
Like so many of the best things in life, the On × BEAMS collaboration all started with a chance meeting. Shingo Arai, a buyer at BEAMS and a keen amateur tennis player, was watching Roger Federer play in Tokyo. Later that evening, their paths crossed and Arai grabbed the chance to speak to his hero and, hopefully, to inspire the next generation. Federer ended up filming a video for Arai and his children. “I hope one day I’ll be watching you on TV, playing tennis on the big stage,” he said, through the camera, to Arai’s son.
Years later, Arai revisited that video as BEAMS began working on its collaboration with On. Roger Federer has been working with On since 2019, and his brief meeting with Arai created a shared bond with BEAMS. After that chance meeting helped to initiate the collaboration, Federer appears in the campaign and shares an overall approach that is central to the design of the collection.
Another buyer at BEAMS, Keita Kobayashi (known as Gonzo), says of Federer, “The BEAMS company philosophy is to create both essential and exciting pieces, and that’s the way Federer dresses. Everything is connected; everything makes sense between Federer and us.” In other words, Federer represents the meeting point of On’s technical innovation and BEAMS’ fashion legacy, the ability to mix essential, classic clothing with high-performance active wear.
Federer represents the meeting point of On’s technical innovation and BEAMS’ fashion legacy.
While the seed for the collaboration between On and BEAMS was planted when Arai met Federer, it really got off the ground during a visit to Switzerland.
“We were invited to Zurich to see the headquarters, and went hiking,” recalls Gonzo. “We were climbing huge mountains, it was like serious trail running.” This physical challenge–a reach for something higher–brought the team further together. “We fell in love with everything On does,” Gonzo says. “Their innovation is so high level. We saw how they produce each garment, how they make the clothing, how they make the shoes. It’s at another level from what we've seen before. On are making something new.”
With this collaboration, BEAMS and On are aiming to combine that performance focus with tennis’ own inherent style. Perhaps more than any other sport, tennis has its own fashion world. Some of the world’s most famous garments–the timeless all-white sneaker to polo shirts–were originally worn on court, and there have been players who have gone on to become style icons in their own right. A big reason that tennis style has been able to expand off court is a prosaic, technical factor. “In other sports, you wear shoes specifically for playing the sport,” Arai says, as one example. “But in tennis, we can wear the shoes while we’re playing tennis but we can also wear them while we’re out and about.”
BEAMS and On are aiming to combine that performance focus with tennis’ own inherent style.
Off-court, tennis also has its own fashion language, one derived from the sport’s country club roots that is now being reimagined in a new way. “Tennis is the closest sport to fashion,” Gonzo says. “There are legendary players who were wearing blazers and slacks before going on court. There’s an Ivy League, preppy way of dressing which is very close to tennis culture.” Both Ivy League and prep have re-entered the cultural lexicon in recent years, as a new generation of fans discover their fashion legacy and rework it. Celebrities like Tyler, The Creator and Gigi Hadid – as well as designers like Nigo and Pharrell Williams – have shown how the style can still be relevant. Younger fans from all over the world are wearing Oxford shirts, leather loafers and smart blazers in a way that subverts their often elitist connotations. Against this backdrop, tennis culture and tennis style are ripe for rediscovery.
The Ivy League aesthetic is something that BEAMS has frequently drawn on. Despite being founded in Japan, the brand is known for its Americana and preppy influences, helping to develop the country’s famous Ivy subculture for almost half a century. “We’ve been pursuing blazers, chinos and sneakers for 48 years,” Gonzo explains. The Japanese history of prep and Ivy League goes back even further than that, and is often traced back to the publication of Take Ivy in 1965, a photography book documenting the style of American students that sparked a surge of interest in Japan. A decade later, BEAMS was founded.
For the label’s collaboration with On, though, the team at BEAMS looked to a different side of tennis culture. The collection isn’t about the buttoned-up world of country clubs, but instead has a stronger streetwear influence, partly drawn from Arai’s own experience, growing up and playing tennis in the ‘90s. Arai began playing tennis aged 8, eventually earning a place at university because of his ability. As well as an enduring love for the sport, it also introduced him to other passions. “Growing up playing tennis is how I learned about fashion and sneakers,” he explains. In those days, Arai would wear big and baggy outfits on court, more inspired by streetwear and sneaker culture than the strict rules of tennis. It also introduced him to a whole new world of footwear, something that he still loves today. “He must have 1000 pairs of sneakers,” laughs Gonzo.
That overlap between tennis and street culture is the starting point for the BEAMS and On collaboration. Silhouettes are baggier than traditional performance wear, with relaxed tracksuits, T-shirts and shorts all included in the collection. “We’re making all the garments a little bit bigger, so people can wear the collection to play tennis, or they can wear the collection if they’re going for a drink in Harajuku,” Gonzo says. “The collaboration is somewhere between serious tennis and street culture, which is why we called it the Street Tennis Club.”
As well as the apparel side of the collection, there’s also a pair of THE ROGER Pro sneakers that continue the off-court and on-court influence. “Even people who aren’t playing tennis wear tennis shoes,” Gonzo adds. “They might not even know that they’re tennis shoes.” THE ROGER Pro sneakers come in the same Ivory and Evergreen color palette as the rest of the collection, a subtle nod to the all-white dress code and green grass of Federer’s victorious Wimbledon courts.
By taking tennis to the streets, the collection is aimed at a new generation of tennis fans. The sport has always been driven forward by personalities, and some players active today are helping to attract a different audience. Last year, Netflix released Break Point which went behind-the-scenes with an exciting group of rising players. Over the course of its two-series run, the show introduced fans to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe and more.
“Growing up playing tennis is how I learned about fashion and sneakers.”
Another player to star in Break Point was American rising star Ben Shelton, an On athlete and a favorite of the BEAMS team. “His playing style is very active, very strong, he gets the crowd going,” Gonzo says, drawing comparisons between Federer and Shelton. “These players have different playing styles and they become iconic, not just in tennis. Tennis can create this kind of personality and a new generation can see that kind of person. It’s making the next generation more interested in tennis.”
Inspired by the inclusive and modern approach of tennis’ next generation – both players and fans – the collection is more relaxed and casual. Part of that is the looser, baggier fits of the clothes themselves, and part of it is how the clothes are displayed. “We want to show that you can wear the tracksuit top with jeans or with chinos, each item can be worn in your daily life as well as for playing tennis,” Gonzo says. “Shingo can wear it to play tennis, and I can wear it to just sit down next to him and grab a drink!” This high-energy collection reflects the worlds of both rest and play.
