TIME MACHINE: 2003
Welcome back to the Time Machine!
2003 was a year rich in cinematic milestones. With The Return of the King, Peter Jackson concluded his masterful Lord of the Rings trilogy. At the 2004 Academy Awards, the film swept the board with eleven Oscars, equalling the record set by Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997). But it was also the year of Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River (Oscars for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins), Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (Oscar for Best Original Screenplay), and Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1 – the opening chapter of a cult phenomenon.
Music in 2003 was just as diverse. The White Stripes released Elephant, with its unforgettable anthem Seven Nation Army. 50 Cent burst onto the scene with Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Amy Winehouse introduced herself with her debut album Frank. And Beyoncé launched her solo career with Dangerously in Love – an album that heralded her record-breaking rise to global superstardom.
Meanwhile, in the FILA universe, 2003 marked another important chapter in motorsport. Following its collaboration with Ferrari (2002), FILA partnered with Ducati, the legendary motorcycle manufacturer founded by Adriano Ducati in Borgo Panigale, Bologna. Ducati’s origins (1926) as Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati showcased a pioneering spirit that later evolved into the motor industry.
The 2003 FILA–Ducati collaboration launched with the slogan “Two Italian stories, one passion”. It expressed the qualities shared by both companies: vision of the future, meticulous attention to detail and an unrelenting desire for victory. The campaign was pure rock ’n’ roll, pairing motorcycles with iconic soundtracks such as David Bowie’s Rebel Rebel (1974) and Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life (2000). The apparel collection balanced technical uniforms and classic cuts, worn by some of the era’s most celebrated riders.
One of them was Australian Troy Bayliss, nicknamed “Bayllistic”, the only rider to win three world titles on three different Ducati models.
Britain’s Neil Hodgson became Ducati’s number one rider in 2003 on the FILA Ducati 999, at just 30 years old. Alongside him, Spanish rider Rubén Xaus brought his distinctive style and fearless energy, contending for the 2003 World Superbike Championship title with Ducati.
Both Hodgson and Xaus featured in the Spring–Summer lookbook, photographed by Fabrizio Porrozzi and Giulio Viggi. The collection was introduced with these words:
“From tennis courts to race tracks, FILA is synonymous with excellence. Its tradition – recently embodied by champions such as Jennifer Capriati, Kim Clijsters and Mark Philippoussis – now comes to the race track […] And even if tennis and motor racing seem to have nothing in common, in reality the two companies share a DNA made up of Italian style and the desire to stand out.”
