Fashion’s love of the fast lane has always been apparent. From Louis Vuitton to Chanel to Diesel and more, the luxury fashion world has continued to have an affinity for motorsports — just look to the “motorcore” trend that soared in popularity since 2022, and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton becoming a global partner of Formula 1.

Over the years, the newest Scuderia Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton, has shown up to the paddock wearing full looks off the runway and has deeply entrenched himself in the world of fashion. Now, other drivers are eager to be part of the racetrack runway.

While Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc doesn’t employ a stylist full time, he works on a project-by-project basis with Carlotta Constant, a former British GQ and British Vogue fashion editor turned freelance stylist and creative consultant who’s previously worked with David Beckham and Pharrell Williams.

Constant styled Leclerc for the announcement photos of his new global brand ambassadorship with Chivas Regal (which is independently a Ferrari official team sponsor) — dressing the Monegasque driver in Simone Rocha, Intimissimi, Tom Ford, Saint Laurent, Reiss, Amiri, 1017 Alyx 9SM, The Row and Burberry whilst simultaneously incorporating Leclerc’s long-term brand ambassadorships with APM Monaco and Richard Mille.

One driver who has started to dip his toes deeper in the world of fashion is Alex Albon, Atlassian Williams racing driver and founder of the brand AA23.

Previously, Albon’s girlfriend and professional golfer Lily Muni He — who is often seen around the paddock wearing the season’s most coveted pieces from Miu Miu, Prada, Coperni, Loewe and more — would help pull something suitable for him.

But for this past February’s F1 75 event at the O2 in London, it was finally time to bring in a professional; the British Thai driver has wanted to work with a stylist for a while now to “bring out [his] style a bit more, without making it feel overdone.”

Albon now works with Kit Swann, who previously worked at GQ Style as a junior fashion editor and now freelances as a stylist and who has dressed Adrian Brody, Sam Claflin and more.

The two were connected by Loes Klinker, Albon’s head of social/digital creative, who discovered Swann through Instagram and the duo decided he’d be the best fit based on his past work.

Beyond creating a look for Formula 1’s anniversary celebration red carpet, Swann has also created a spring capsule collection for Albon to wear throughout the start of the 2025 season.

Albon told WWD he didn’t know what to expect for his first time working with a stylist but said it was a “surprisingly fun” experience and realized they were on the same page. Swann also enjoyed the experience of working with someone newer to fashion to show why he’s passionate about styling and why fashion is an interesting medium for personal style and taste.

“Working with Alex is so great because it gives me the opportunity to show him all the brands that I love working with, why I like working with them and makes me love what I do,” Swann said.

When tasked with the capsule collection, Swann looked at Albon’s Instagram to gauge his style. Albon and Klinker also created a short brief for Swann including his personal colors and fit preferences, but they gave Swann room to brainstorm ideas that align with Albon’s sartorial sensibilities and also introduce him more to the world of fashion.

“I went for brands that were contemporary, minimal,” Swann continued. “Me and Alex both prefer to have a style that’s more on the minimal side. He was very open to listening to my ideas and open to trying something new. I was very conscious in trying to pick things that were appropriate for him. I wouldn’t want to scare him away and make him feel daunted by having to wear something crazy and outlandish.”

After Swann reached out to brands, the two had an in-person fitting where Albon chose the pieces he gravitated toward the most. The varying global weather Albon travels to throughout the year plays the biggest part in Albon’s selection process, as does comfort.

Like many drivers, Albon sometimes wears his team kit on race day or can be seen donning his own clothing and footwear brand, AA23. With this in mind, Swann also analyzed the Williams Racing shirt to make sure the pieces complemented each other if they were mixed together. After creating Albon’s capsule collection, Swann also created a PDF record for Albon and his team of all the clothing items he had packed to have on hand.

While Albon doesn’t fancy himself a style expert per se and views fashion as a way to get outside of his comfort zone, he enjoys working on the creative process behind his clothing and shoe brand, AA23. Many of the retail drops from last year showcased his personality through his style and gave fans differing styles. He said his brand’s core range is “easy style without compromising on comfort.”

“My brand AA23 is about building a stronger connection with my fans and creating a community around it. It’s been a fun process so far and I’m excited to share more of who I am through it. I’m enjoying building out AA23 more and hope to get the opportunity to work on some bigger creative, fashion collaborations with other designers soon.”

Another factor to consider was interchangeability — Albon describes Swann’s curated collection as “a rotating closet of mix-and-match items that could be layered.”

This versatility is especially necessary for Formula 1 drivers since the first races of the season in Australia, China, Japan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have extreme variability in their climates. Moreover, Swann and Albon wanted to highlight sustainability and longevity; Albon isn’t showing up to different race weekends in new clothes every time because his clothes are made to last.

“The point of the wardrobe was for Alex to have eight to 10 looks that he could wear during the season,” Swann said. “This covers looks from arriving on race days and going for practice — as well as everyday walking around the city and having time to himself. For most of the season, he’s living out of a couple of suitcases. It needed to have a cohesive collection of items that if he woke up and had to rush off somewhere, he could grab a T-shirt and a pair of trousers and know that they’re going to go together with nothing crazy to think about.”

Swann asked Albon for his favorite brands to take into consideration but also wanted to introduce ones within his arsenal such as Burberry, Kaptain Sunshine, Our Legacy, Auralee, MFPen, Le Maire and other British designers. Many of the clothing he highlighted and wanted to share with Albon were brands that create quality products through dead stock fabrics, upcycled materials or bespoke tailoring.

Some of the brands Albon enjoys wearing include Loewe, Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger and Margaret Howell — which Swann introduced him to — and he wore alongside fellow British brands John Smedley and J&M Davidson to the F1 75 event.

“I see fashion more as something that allows me to be creative outside of racing. It’s cool to see more and more fashion brands integrate themselves into Formula 1 and motorsport generally. More drivers are getting into fashion and working with brands because it’s another way to express your personality and connect with fans on a different level. With how much Formula 1 has grown as a sport there are more creative, collaborative opportunities out there,” Albon said.