After a two-year hiatus, Death to Tennis was officially back on the NYFW schedule, this time featuring a new partnership between the original co-founder and design director William Watson who hails from Northern England, and British-Nigerian Ebi Kagbala, who’s now creative director. Despite the recent appointment, Kagbala has been collaborating with the brand on visuals since its inception in 2012. “Even when I had a retail job in my early days in the city,” says Kagbala. “I wanted to assist in any way I could.”
An updated team ushers in a fresh energy, but that doesn’t mean the design-duo have detached themselves from the relaxed, heritage-sportswear aesthetic that has resonated with customers from New York to Tokyo. If anything, the pair looked to the label’s DNA for their spring 2022 show by mixing archive pieces, such as top-selling items like the button-up ‘Kes’ shirts or ‘Wayne’ cargo pants in linen, with voluminous creations in shades of tangerine, rust, and the vibrant blues of Japanese denim. “The collection is called ‘While You Were Sleeping’—partly because we felt the industry was sleeping on us a bit,” says Watson. “But, really, it was more about the fact that we had so many great silhouettes and pieces that were so ahead of their time that are worth bringing back now.”
The runway show was staged at a warehouse in Chelsea and for the first time featured female models. Garments were predominantly menswear, even the looks worn by women, but are encouraged to be enjoyed by all. Key silhouettes included over-sized puffers and anoraks; high-waisted tracksuit bottoms and tweed pants; and double-breasted linen jackets with what the designers dubbed ‘kangaroo pockets’ that fit hands at a more comfortable angle. It nodded both to their colorful past, but also pushed ahead into the future. Here’s to a new era of Death to Tennis.
