Embracing her faux French roots without behaving like an imposter, it’s perfectly natural — even logical — that Sporty & Rich finds itself in an exciting collaboration with one of the world’s most important destinations — Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Antibes.

Sporty & Rich is not just a fashion brand; it represents a lifestyle that seamlessly blends athleticism, wellness and luxury. At its core, the brand embraces the belief that being active and maintaining physical fitness should not compromise one's sense of style or desire for clothes with an attitude of luxury.

With an emphasis on simplicity, Sporty & Rich offers a range of thoughtfully designed garments that effortlessly transition from workout wear to everyday apparel.

Canadian-born, New York-based founder Emily Oberg has a sixth-sense for brand DNA and pedigree, and she plays her hand expertly — choosing a name like Sporty & Rich for her brand, but not falling down the rabbit hole of vapid pretentiousness.

There’s a very European and specifically French attitude to her presentation, an approach to dressing that may be sporty and serious — but not in a typically American crash and burn mentality when the focus is sports. Wellness to French women is just as important as a form of exercise. Oberg understands this nuance well and is pursuing the wellness category.

Once can easily imagine that Nicole Richie and her pals spent her pre-April 2023 wedding days relaxing at Eden- Roc, lounging around in Sporty & Rich. We returned to the Eden-Roc Friday, wanting to probe more deeply the history of the famous hotel and its clientele.

All That Jazz

As familiar as I am with the French Riviera, it was only after the Louis Vuittton Men’s show — which Anne watches whenever her spirits need a lift — that I connected the dots of the world’s most famous jazz festival in Antibes, founded in 1960, with the night of May 20, 2023 in Paris.

The deep love for France — both Paris and the French Riviera — expressed by many of the most famous names in American jazz is a huge part of the history of Eden-Roc. Countless American Blacks sought refuge there, viewing Eden-Roc as a sanctuary.

Yes, many came to rehearse during the day, while performing under the Riviera stars at night. But others like Miles Davis came to recharge — not to be seen, but to walk along the beach and formulate new ideas for his music.

Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Was a Refuge for American Creatives

No country is perfect and I’m sure that America’s greatest Black musicians experienced quiet affronts in their life experiences in France. But life was infinitely better for their creative spirits in France than in America.

I have more books coming, but for progressives like myself, it seems that France and especially the south of France was a great, global meeting place for like-minded people who do not choose to chop up the world’s people into categories, based on skin color.

Gratitude for All

It’s my long-held understanding that the French felt enormous gratitude to the American GIs who helped liberate France and Europe from the Nazis. They were grateful to ALL GIs, nurses and other military personnel, not only the white men and women.

Can you imagine American white people being grateful to Black people for anything? Honestly, I can’t. Individually, many of us are, but there is no collective sense of Mayflower-types, white people being grateful to immigrants generally, African Americans, indigenous peoples, or Latinos either. There would be no America without them, and AOC finds life much more dazzling in their company.

The Sporty & Rich X Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc collab doesn’t tap into this early sixties, world history, but it sits very well, in harmony with it.

The images are unpretentious in a most positive way, while also being thoughtful and self-assured. Emily Oberg has a lot of talent in her tote bag.

AOC intends to come at this French-American story from many angles in the coming months. Since Sporty & Rich is not drinking martinis at an Eden-Roc sundown in these images, I’ll reach out to my Friday post for the hotel’s very own gin.

Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Antibes and the American-French Jazz Alliance AOC Eye