Slick yet casual, urban yet retro: can this sport become a real vehicle for the new definition of sport, style, and living?
The tennis game had the first serve, so to say, with brands such as Lacoste and Fila top-notchly dressing whoever was featured in neat skirts and sleeveless tops with the high vibes of glam. This pure sports glam fit the old shift in society, yet its eruption set forth a new change to take over.
The younger sibling, table tennis, didn't really stick much to all those set rules. Big names in table tennis like Donic, Joola, and Butterfly have been keeping time since then, and these old-style shirts still give enough cool ideas.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, these shirts bore bolder shapes and more color combos, as soccer ones did. Now that soccer shirts are all the rage, those sports tops of table tennis with shorts should in theory be riding that wave, just like Prada Men's is. The love for table tennis being at the level of the Olympic Games opens many doors. This was noted by Céline Del Genes, chief customer officer of Decathlon, as also mentioned in the recent McKinsey report, Sporting Goods 2025: The new balancing act: turning uncertainty into opportunity. These are the sports that bring people together and are easy to step into.
One way to let loose with friends is provided by your regular stone ping pong table in parks. One only needs lightweight paddles and a soft ball to begin. Another option is to go down to the new-age ping pong bars and cafes in all major cities, where one can rent a table for the evening and enjoy games coupled with drinks in a very hip atmosphere. Maximum level of coolness! Really, no one seated at the adjacent table will judge you for your playing style.
Fashionable aspects in streetwear have always been at the heart of balancing between being in a group and having a different style. This trend is now entering the ping pong domain. This cool revamping of speed brings many fans in East Asian places like Japan and China. People see this as an avenue to express their uniqueness. This trend shines on Xiaohongshu outside China. Many posts on this Chinese website snag attention for this movement.
The posh Parisian streetwear label, Casablanca, jumped in for spring/summer 2022. They took inspiration from Japan's fashion. In association with the ping-pong brand Butterfly, they have concocted a chic ping-pong table and paddles. Plus, cool jumpers, T-shirts, and shirts from the retro side of the brand are still available for purchase on their website.
With Little Tokyo Table Tennis, it is evident the others go crazy about the sport, even far from Japan. This "Ping Pong Club" in L.A. is riding high in the big leagues. And today, its fame is making waves toward its cool clothesline.
LTTT fuses sport with Japanese streetwear that enjoys fun prints and fresh images. They thus collaborate with others, for example, the table tennis brand Butterfly, to bring nostalgia-cool style back into life while adding fun coolness to the new-age design. There are cute bags to carry your paddles or an adorably decorated net—all about that kawaii feeling from Japan. Not so long ago, the club gained worldwide fame when it formed a big collaboration with Asics, covering everything from hats and shirts to shoes.