One8 and the new Indian athlete look: getting the style without the deal

Virat Kohli did not just get famous for his batting average. Somewhere along the way, the tight fit tee, the performance sneaker, and the clean, no logo heavy silhouette became a look people actively copy, whether they follow cricket or not.

A lot of that look traces back to One8, the brand Kohli started in 2017 in partnership with Puma, built around his jersey number and eventually expanded into performance footwear, fragrances, and a wider retail play through his brother Vikas Kohli's One8 Select and One8 Commune ventures (Source: Storyboard18). One8 is Kohli's own venture, not a shoe retailer competing for your sneaker budget, so think of it here purely as cultural reference for a look, not a shopping destination.

You do not need to buy into a single brand's drop calendar to get that same silhouette. Here is what actually defines the look, and where to find the equivalent pieces.

Photo: Kicks Machine, Nike Zoom Fly 6 Black Smoke Grey

What the One8 look is actually built on

Strip away the branding and the look itself is fairly simple: fitted performance basics, a clean colour story usually anchored in black, white, or a single accent tone, and footwear that reads athletic first, streetwear second. It is a deliberate move away from the baggier, logo forward athleisure that dominated a decade ago.

Kohli's own One8 signature cricket shoe, priced at nine thousand two hundred and thirty rupees to mirror his exact Test career run tally, leans into a deep red colourway with white stitching as a tribute to the traditional red ball (Source: Outlook Luxe). That kind of restrained, story driven design choice, one colour doing the talking rather than a wall of logos, is really the throughline of the whole look, not just that one shoe.

The athleisure category this sits inside is genuinely booming in India, growing at an estimated 20 to 25 percent a year as fitness culture and casual dressing merge into one wardrobe (Source: BestMediaInfo). Kohli is one of several Indian celebrities, including Sonam Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, who have moved from simply endorsing sportswear to owning a piece of the category outright (Source: Storyboard18).

Getting the silhouette without a brand deal

You do not need Kohli's contract to get his fit. What you need is the same three ingredients: a genuine performance running shoe, fitted basics, and a colour discipline that does not try too hard.

Start with the shoe, since it does most of the visual work. A running silhouette with a visible midsole and a sock like fit reads as athletic and current in a way a flat, boxy sneaker does not. Nike's performance running range covers exactly this territory, and the Nike Running collection has the everyday trainers that carry this look from gym to street without looking like gym kit.

If you want something that leans slightly more casual while keeping the same clean, low branding energy, a low top classic like the Nike Air Force 1 collection does the job too, particularly in black or white colourways that keep the outfit reading minimal.

That's exactly why every pair at Kicks Machine goes through a six step inspection before it ships. When you are building a look around a single hero shoe, you want that pair to be exactly what it claims to be, not a compromise you settle for because the checkout was fast.

Building the rest of the outfit around it

The shoe sets the tone, but the rest of the fit should stay quiet. A fitted crew neck or half zip in a single colour, a joggers or slim taper trouser that stops right above the shoe, and minimal accessories. The mistake most people make chasing this look is layering in too many logos elsewhere once the shoe is already doing the branding work.

For colder Mumbai and Delhi evenings or an early morning run in Bangalore, a light zip through or windbreaker in the same tonal family keeps the silhouette intact instead of breaking it up with a clashing colour block. The goal the whole way through is restraint: one hero piece, everything else built to support it quietly.

Photo: Kicks Machine, Nike Air Force 1 Low Black Carbon Fiber

Why this trend has staying power in India

Fitness culture in India has genuinely shifted from occasional gym membership to an everyday identity marker, and that shift is what is fueling the athleisure category's growth more than any single celebrity endorsement (Source: BestMediaInfo). Kohli's own transformation, publicly documented over more than a decade, is part of why the fitness first wardrobe reads as aspirational rather than just sporty.

Our multi category catalogue exists for exactly this kind of cross wardrobe building, since a look like this rarely stays confined to just sneakers. Pairing performance footwear with the right streetwear basics is easier when you are not hopping between five different stores to find pieces that actually sit together.

The practical upside for Indian buyers is that you do not need to wait for a limited signature drop to get this look right. A well chosen running silhouette in the correct colourway does almost all the same visual work, at a fraction of the hunt.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the One8 brand?
One8 is Virat Kohli's own venture, launched in 2017 with Puma and later expanded into performance footwear, fragrances, and retail through One8 Select and One8 Commune (Source: Storyboard18). It is not a multi brand sneaker retailer.

Is One8 owned by Virat Kohli?
Yes, One8 was founded by Kohli and named after his jersey number, eighteen. His brother Vikas Kohli runs several of the retail and hospitality ventures under the same umbrella.

What shoes does Virat Kohli wear day to day?
Public reporting has shown Kohli in performance running silhouettes and clean, low branding sneakers as part of his everyday rotation, alongside his own One8 signature footwear line. Exact pairs vary by appearance and are not always confirmed.

Can I get this look without buying a One8 product?
Yes. The look is built on a genuine performance running shoe, fitted basics, and a restrained colour story rather than any single branded item. A well chosen pair from a performance running range achieves the same silhouette.

Why does Kicks Machine inspect every pair before shipping?
Because a look built around one hero shoe only works if that shoe is exactly what it claims to be. The in house inspection process exists so buyers do not have to gamble on authenticity while building an outfit around it.

Building this look is less about chasing one athlete's brand and more about getting the fundamentals right: a genuine performance shoe, a restrained palette, and pieces that actually sit well together. Start with the Nike Running collection at Kicks Machine and build the rest of the fit from there.