Formula 1’s relationship with fashion has become increasingly difficult to ignore. What was once largely associated with team uniforms, racing jackets and weekend merchandise has steadily moved into the wider fashion conversation, with brands using motorsport’s visual language to create pieces designed to exist well beyond the paddock. The latest example comes from Formula 1 and Spanish sportswear label Pompeii, which have joined forces on a capsule collection ahead of Formula 1’s return to Madrid.
A Spanish Label Enters the Racing World
Launching on September 8, the collaboration marks Pompeii’s first move into motor racing. Founded in 2014 as a footwear brand, the Madrid-based label has since expanded into clothing and developed a following around its sneakers and sportswear. Its growing portfolio already includes collaborations connected to football, golf and American sports, making the move into Formula 1 feel less like a departure and more like another step in the brand’s evolving relationship with sport.
The nine-piece unisex capsule takes inspiration from the history of Formula 1 rather than attempting to recreate contemporary team uniforms. According to WWD, the collection draws on racing style icons including the late Ayrton Senna, as well as the sponsor patches traditionally found across drivers’ uniforms. These references give the collection a nostalgic quality while allowing Pompeii to reinterpret racing imagery through its own contemporary streetwear language.
Racing History, Reworked for Everyday Wear
That balance is perhaps the most interesting part of the collaboration. Motorsport fashion can easily become overly literal, relying on racing stripes, oversized logos and replicas of clothing worn by teams. Pompeii is approaching it differently, bringing recognisable elements of racing culture into a more everyday wardrobe.
The idea reflects a much wider shift in the way sports and fashion now interact. The modern sportswear consumer does not necessarily want to dress like an athlete. Instead, sporting references are increasingly absorbed into everyday fashion. A racing jacket can be styled with denim, a football shirt can become part of a streetwear look, and team-inspired pieces can function as fashion statements even for people who have never attended a match or race. For Pompeii, this creates an opportunity to approach Formula 1 from a fashion perspective rather than simply producing conventional motorsport merchandise. The collection uses the history and visual codes of racing as a starting point, while remaining recognisable as Pompeii.
Why Formula 1 Wants to Be in Fashion
The collaboration also fits into Formula 1’s larger expansion into fashion and popular culture. The sport has increasingly worked with fashion and streetwear names, moving beyond traditional team merchandise and positioning its identity within a much broader lifestyle market. This shift is partly connected to the changing profile of Formula 1’s audience. As the sport reaches new consumers, particularly younger audiences, its appeal increasingly extends beyond the race itself. Drivers, teams, paddock culture and the visual language of motorsport have become part of the wider cultural conversation.
Fashion is an obvious extension of that world. Clothing allows fans to participate in the identity of a sport without necessarily wearing a traditional team uniform. It turns fandom into something that can be incorporated into everyday personal style.
Madrid Becomes Part of the Story
The timing of the Pompeii collaboration is particularly significant because it coincides with Formula 1’s return to Madrid. Rather than being a partnership detached from a particular location, the collection is closely connected to the Spanish capital and Pompeii’s identity as a Madrid-born brand.
Pompeii cofounder and creative director Cosme Bergareche told WWD that the collaboration presented an opportunity to show an international audience what Madrid represents. The Formula 1 event provides a natural setting for the brand to introduce its interpretation of racing culture while highlighting its own connection to the city.
That local element gives the partnership more character than a simple exchange of logos. Both Formula 1 and Pompeii bring a sense of place to the collaboration: one through Madrid’s emergence as a new destination on the F1 calendar, and the other through its origins in the city.
A New Kind of Sportswear
The Pompeii and Formula 1 collaboration ultimately reflects how much the meaning of sportswear has changed. It is no longer restricted to clothing designed for athletes or merchandise designed exclusively for fans. It has become a language through which fashion brands can explore identity, nostalgia, community and cultural relevance. For Formula 1, collaborations such as this extend the sport further into fashion and lifestyle. For Pompeii, they offer an opportunity to interpret one of the world’s most recognisable sporting cultures through a distinctly Spanish lens.
The result is not simply racing merchandise. It is another example of how the world of sport continues to influence what people want to wear, and how fashion continues to find new ways to turn sporting culture into everyday style.
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