All about iconic green and purple Made in India Wimbledon towels

The Wimbledon finale recently concluded with Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz winning the coveted title for the second time in a row by beating Novak Djokovic. As memorable as the finale, are the iconic and instantly recognisable green and purple Championship towels — the classic colours of Wimbledon’s brand colours. These Wimbledon Championships towels, used by all tennis players on the court in every match, have been completely Made in India in Gujarat’s Vapi for the past 15 years since 2009.

“Our collaboration with Wimbledon for so many years has been a mark of India’s fine production quality on a global scale like this Championship. The Wimbledon towels are not just well-known, they are collector’s items for tennis fans! It is indeed a matter of pride that these Indian-made products are ethically and ecologically produced. India’s role in Wimbledon and India’s growing global impact must be celebrated,” said Vanshika Goenka, CEO, Christy UK, which is a subsidiary of Welspun Living Limited, the official towel manufacturers of the championship.

The factory in Vapi, according to Goenka, “is an expert in creating yarn-dyed jacquard towels”. The towels are therefore made by combining two different colour yarns to construct the fabric. They are built of two colours, but have striking both front and back.

India is gaining attention in the global textile industry, and “definitely, the Indian government has played a great role in the same,” shared Goenka. “Endeavours like these will empower skills, create jobs, and bring in a lot more global vendors to the domestic market,” said Goenka.

The design process for each year starts 18 months in advance of the tournament taking into account design and colour trends for the season, apprised Lucy Ackroyd, head of design, Christy UK.

“The fact that every player uses them on the court makes the product a much-wanted souvenir for tennis fans,” said Ackroyd, adding that each towel goes through a seven-day-long manufacturing process.

Each year the design is screen-tested on the court to ensure that the towel stands out on camera during the tournament. “While in previous years, the towels have always been designed in a landscape format, the 2024 design layout was a portrait. This was a specific design direction from the team at Wimbledon. The decision to change to a portrait design format was to make the towel more appealing to use off-court as beach towels. The designs also included silhouettes of players in motion, created using a special shading technique (marl shadow). This was a way of honouring the long history and core values of the Wimbledon championship,” said Ackroyd, who added that to celebrate the redesigned towels for the year, the brand launched a CGI-led campaign, draping these iconic towels over the world’s iconic buildings.

 

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Just like in previous years, the “eco-friendly towels (OEKO-TEX certified) were made with high-tech HygroCotton, a patented spinning technology that is ideal for sports towels”. “It increases absorbency and wicks away water quickly,” said Ackroyd.

Interestingly, Goenka revealed that every year, the number of players’ towels returned at the end of the tournament reduces, as the players want to keep the towels as a souvenir of their tournament.

Here’s a detailed look (Source: Christy)

Meanwhile, for the first time this year, Christy created an heirloom collection whereby excess towels from previous championships were upcycled into tote bags which were available for sale, and also jackets which were crafted in collaboration with a fashion designer. “The tote bags sold out in record time,” apprised Goenka.

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