Rafa has entered the “what was I wearing?” chat.
Looking back at his pirate pants and sleeveless tops in GQ’s interview with Nick Remsen, Nadal’s verdict is “for me, it’s horrible”. He also acknowledges that the look helped establish his identity.
The photographs make a strong case for the defence. In the 2005 Roland-Garros image, the combination is unmistakable: a green sleeveless top, white trousers cut below the knee and a white bandana. By 2007, the capri trousers were black, paired with a blue-and-white top. These are archive outfits, not a new collection.
Prestige’s outfit retrospective revisits both looks, while the official Roland-Garros archive traces his changing tournament style.
Our view: some sports outfits are so distinctive that the silhouette does the introduction. A bandana, a sleeveless top and those trousers are enough to send tennis fans straight back to this chapter of Rafa’s career.
Fashion crime or sporting classic? The pirate-pants defence rests.
Lead photograph: Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros in 2005. Getty Images via Prestige. Archive photograph.
