Sol Angeles makes the kind of soft, slouchy duds that are perfect for watching tennis in,
maybe not so much playing it. Well, kickin' back is just fine with Heineken USA, as they've tapped the young Los Angeles brand to not only design a limited edition capsule collection for this year's U.S. Open, but also apply their touches to the Heineken Lounge that sits on the grounds of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sol Angeles' founders, Eli and Lindsay Meyers, chatted with The Eye about the collection (it's retro cool), the magic of night matches, and their love for America's biggest tennis championship.
The GQ Eye: Do you have a personal or emotional connection to tennis or to the U.S. Open in particular?
Eli and Lindsay Meyers: We both really love tennis, and it's something that we follow, and care about as a couple.
GQ: What jumped out at you about this project and how did it go down?
The Meyers: The Sol Angeles Fall 2010 collection was inspired by the World Cup. Leading up to the Cup, we were really keen on participating in different soccer related events and tournaments around LA in celebration of our World Cup lineup that we had put together. While attending the Champions League event in LA at Le Deux, we met a team of very like-minded people from Heineken USA who shared an appreciation for well-made clothing, as well as for our brand philosophy of "Sport & Social." We gave them some shirts to take home to NYC and a great chain of correspondence developed. Over the next few months we realized there was a great opportunity to apply our passion for clothing and sport to one of their major events.
GQ: What is the inspiration behind the collection?
The Meyers: We tried to focus on designing something comfortable, but functional. We're not talking about performance wear, we're talking about something you look and feel good in, and play well in. This classic tennis apparel is a collection that you will feel sharp wearing, while also showing your support of the US Open and the sport of tennis.
We started by exploring the twenty year relationship between Heineken and the US Open. We wanted the clothing to evoke the memories people held for this event, the drama experienced, the points cheered. We found amazing imagery of night matches played at the Open. Visibly hot summer nights, the players and the crowd pumping their fists and cheering. Year after year of happy fans and amazing tennis.... That's classic. The Open and Heineken were already such a wonderful pair: our work was easy. And, really, the U.S. Open experience is the perfect measure of Sport & Social. There's so much to do at the event.
The Heineken Tennis Classics by Sol Angeles collection is available exclusively on site at the 2011 U.S. Open.
