Adidas' audacious style for French Open players inspired by 'dazzle camouflage'
While the zebra print has gained some fans, some say it's 'a bit busy' or 'hideous'
Adidas has turned quite a few heads at the 2016 French Open.
The sportswear company chose to outfit its players — including former champion Ana Ivanovic, world No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and ex-Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych — in a bold, black-and-white zebra-striped collection "made to disrupt and inspire."
The eye-boggling style has sparked a lively conversation among fans and commentators — some are "digging the zebra print," while others are observing that it's "a bit busy" or "hideous." Others argue that it could be distracting to the players on the other side of the net.
The sportswear company says the clothing line is inspired by "dazzle camouflage," a military pattern used on ships in World War I and II.
Ships were painted with dark and light stripes, the idea being "to distort an enemy submarine commander's perception of the ship's size, shape, range, heading and speed, so as to make it harder to hit with the non-homing torpedoes of the period."
When releasing the 2016 French Open style, the Adidas senior director of tennis said, "We designed the apparel as to minimise distractions for the players."