Mansell and Dix the inspiration behind iconic new F1 clothing

F1 has teamed up with Puma to release its first ever collaborative brand clothing range, as the sport continues to build its ‘cool’ identity within a growing audience. Heavy on black with simplistic design, many garments boldly feature a very prominent modern F1 logo, but they were also developed to reflect some of the sport’s most iconic features.

“We looked at a lot of different material to try to give us inspiration and two key things came out of that,” explained creative director Stefano Favaro. “One of those was the chequered flag and the other was one of Nigel Mansell’s racing suits from his time at Williams – which I picked because he was one of my favourite drivers!

“All the race suits from the past were very similar. Back then the drivers were almost treated like a living mood board, and we wanted to integrate some of that. The chequered flag is another key element we translated, both in a subtle graphic but also in the cut lines in some of the garments, which come from the gesture and movement of waving the flag.”

Building on F1’s ‘cool’ identity

The designers were tasked with creating a new way for fans to connect with the sport, helping to build on the recent success in reaching out to new audiences. In most sports, teams are king when it comes to fan clothing, but Favaro believes the popularity that the sport is now establishing thanks to its current owners is changing the landscape.

“There is definitely a tendency of people to be part of a community and the way people are nowadays, they may be supporting a team but they also want to feel part of a tribe, as we call it,” he explains. “That might be the Football tribe, the basketball tribe, or now the F1 tribe – so you do not necessarily need to be fan of a team.

“There is more and more this trend in young people to feel part of something and I think F1 can do that. You do not necessarily need to be a fan of Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull or whatever, you can be a fan of the sport itself. That is the intention of F1, they really want to bring this sport to the fans in a more spectacular way.

“When you look at Miami, Vegas, F1 was able to bring more people and there is definitely a level of excitement that was never before. Similar to UEFA or FIFA in football, where there is a lot of competition but also a sense of community, in the world of F1 the ‘family feeling’ is stronger, and the direction of delivering more entertainment is shared.”

The Puma designers were tasked with developing F1’s ‘street wear’ clothing range to match its dynamic, fast-moving formula, while also delivering an aligned collection of workwear that would be suitable for the those operating in the paddock during race weekends.

Pace and movement were core to the design for both collections, but just how do you put speed into a piece of clothing? “It is difficult, but with F1 we are lucky,” smiles Favaro. “To me, the logo of F1 itself is a symbol of speed. It is a cool logo and we wanted to make a statement with this collection, so we went a bit a bit loud with it!

“The logo also changes. Not many people are familiar with this, but there is a longer version of the logo, which has a greater attitude of speed. We have never had such big branding in such a prominent position, and that is because we really like the performance and the speed aspect of this logo. That is the really unique feature here.”

A race against time

The designers were challenged to create the new clothing at F1 pace, with just two months between receiving the brief and completing the line. Just like the teams’ designers develop at speed, so too did the apparel designers, with the aim of not only delivering in time for the start of this season but also thinking several seasons ahead.

“There was big time pressure,” recalls designer Minh Trang Luong. “The design process, feedback, development, everything had to happen very quickly, which required all the team members to stay very focused and agile. We also had to react very fast to feedback from the market, but the F1 team was very open, constructive and responsive and that worked well.”

When it comes to materials, the team borrowed from one of the most iconic materials that is used in F1 – and one which has also become increasingly prominently displayed on the cars this season: carbon fibre. Of course, using the real stuff in clothing would be a little stiff, but the team came up with a creative solution.

“Where we use the big F1 logo on the front, we wanted to use exactly this texture,” explains Favaro. “At the beginning, we had a different texture with lines, again with the aim of transferring this attitude of speed, but to make it more authentic to the world of F1, where carbon fibre is really present, we added this texture in a very subtle way.

“The teamwear collection has functional technical materials: very tactile, waterproof fabrics and windproof shells. For the paddock, we also used super-lightweight fabrics. But with the consumer collection, we worked with more conventional base materials as the familiarity of materials is crucial on a lifestyle level.”

It was important to create a strong link between the teamwear and the consumer collection, to make fans feel a part of the paddock, and Trang Luong adds: “Going from track to street, we tried to translate elements like the logo placement or the cut lines. Most of the time, the teamwear is regular fit, so has an athletic feel, while the street wear is more of a relaxed fit.”

Highlights of the range include a woven bomber jacket, with a back design that includes big ‘Formula 1’ lettering, a classic winners wreath emblem and the words ‘Forever. Faster’, as well as a women’s crop top, which, says Favaro, is one of the first designs of its style that Puma has ever made for motorsport.

The question now is, will F1 crack apparel marketing as well as it has done documentary making and fan engagement? “On initial feedback, it has been pretty well received,” responds Favaro. “It represents something new and we will see how people connect to it, but it is a work in progress collection and there is definitely more to come.

“We need to establish this identity across a number of seasons. We have already designed the 2025 range; we are still a work in progress with autumn 25; and we are already kicking off the 2026 collection. So, there is definitely more to come. It is going to become even more racing, more iconic, and even more exciting.”