Celebrating Arthur Ashe in our HERITAGE collection

Celebrating Arthur Ashe in our HERITAGE collection

Few tennis players match as many milestones as Arthur Ashe, the first African-American man to win a Grand Slam tennis title as well as a style icon whose "icy elegance" on and off the court has long even outlived the September 1968 Life Magazine featuring Ashe on the cover which coined the term. 

By the end of 1968, Ashe went from amateur to the No. 1 ranked US tennis player, and more than a half-century later, Ashe stands as a giant in both tennis history and the civil rights movement. And, for the optically stylish, an icon. 

Life Magazine coined his "icy elegance" style after Ashe's style of keeping it cool on the court, even when his opponents struggled to, but he is remembered for never holding back when it came to talking about the impact of his tennis career on the larger fight for racial equity. "I can make my protest heard by winning," he said. "People don't listen to losers."

At Ashe's passing in 1993, after tragically contracting HIV from a blood transfusion following heart bypass surgery, his wins numbered 33 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, and he was post-humously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Bill Clinton. 

Ashe's style, however, lives on eternal. Even in tennis, already one of the most stylish sports in the world, with champions who number in the dozens who move the world through unique flair and style, no one is quite the epitome of 70's style than Ashe. 

Ashe never held back from pushing style. We love his rectangular tortoiseshell glasses here, paired with a sleek Team USA tracksuit. For a similar rectangular shape, try out our CAINE spectacles.


Ashe never shied away from a great pair of aviators, either. Aviators gave his face a wonderfully sleek definition, with the aviator shape narrowing his bone structure. We've given these time-tested & well-loved classics a modern, pared back style with our LANGBOURNE aviators.


Who could forget his chic wayfarers, a classic style he so often wore while playing tennis? His wayfarers were part of Ashe's famous 1968 US Open ensemble, where he cinched his first Grand Slam title. Our WALBROOK sunglasses re-work this classic frame in multiple chic colourways.


Finally, who can forget the panache of a sunglasses-edorned Ashe, sporting an ahead-of-his-time velvet tux on the red carpet, with a peak lapel in contrasting material? Everything is just right - you could land him on a 2025 red carpet and he'd be perfectly at home. For an oversized sunglasses look, check out these boxy SOUTHWARK frames.


As tennis and Arthur Ashe fans, we're celebrating Arthur Ashe's incredible style in our first collection. Come discover the world of Arthur Ashe with us. 


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