By Greg Monteforte
Throughout his career, Adam Scott has been one of the most stylish players on tour. If there is a best-dressed list in golf, the Aussie’s name likely will be on it.
While athletic brands have made strong inroads into the game of golf, Scott has favoured apparel labels that place a premium on fashion and performance. Not surprisingly, he subscribes to the “look good, feel good, play great” mentality.
“I’ve enjoyed the fashion on the golf course,” Scott said. “If I think back to my childhood, my favorite was always Greg Norman. I thought he presented himself very well.”
In 2013 Scott’s passion for fashion led him to Uniqlo, drawn to their philosophy that clothing is lifewear. Trying to escape the typical golf uniform, he liked that the brand’s apparel could easily transition to off-course settings.
“They don’t really pigeonhole one product into a certain category,” Scott said. “The pair of pants I wear on the golf course could be the pair of pants somebody wears to the office. It could be the pair of pants they wear out to dinner at night. It’s whatever you want to make it.”
Scott began wearing Uniqlo’s threads at the Masters that year. At the end of the week, he added another key piece to his new wardrobe — a green jacket.
Fast forward six years and Scott was once again making a buzz at Augusta National, this time due to a double-pleated trouser … part of Uniqlo’s new U line. This vintage golf look is one Scott will continue to sport at the other Major championships this year, including last week’s PGA Championship where he finished T8 .
“I think the skinny tapered trouser has certainly run on trend for a long time now,” he said. “We talked a lot last year about relaxing the silhouettes a little bit and then also relying on the team at Uniqlo U, which is headed by Christophe Lemaire, who’s an incredible designer, to add some detail and more fashion elements. So that’s when the pleats came back in.”
In working with Lemaire and his team, Scott turned to old photographs of Ben Hogan, Claude Harmon, Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead for inspiration. The result was a ‘new classic’ trouser with a modern feel and a relaxed urban style.
Beyond the actual silhouette, Scott also worked with the design team to dial in the proper blend of fabrics. The pants are constructed of a wool-like polyester with the addition of Toray, a breathable, water-repellent fabric. The combination provides him with the vintage drape he wants while also delivering the necessary performance qualities.
So what was the reaction to Scott’s pleats from the other players?
“It was noticed, that’s for sure,” he said. “I certainly don’t think anything I wore at the Masters was outrageous. It was paying tribute to the great vintage golf styling of the past. The trousers were obvious because they were much roomier than most of the other guys’ trousers. A few guys looked like they would be pretty happy to dig in their closet from 15 years ago and bust out their double pleats again.”
Scott is careful to mention that his new looks aren’t about recreating outfits from the past, though. Instead, he is creating modern versions of classic looks that can go anywhere and do anything.
“Certainly, we’re not trying to go back and be like Ben Hogan,” he said. “This is more about the modern classic, but also being able to walk right off the course and out to dinner or into the office and be stylish.”
This story also appears on www.pgatour.com
