Football&Fashion, the multiple red threads linking fashion and soccer
Footballers turning out models and fashion houses designing the wardrobe of emblazoned soccer teams. The intertwining of fashion and football, which has grown over the past 30 years, is now an inextricable tangle that is good for both parties.
Seemingly distinct and distant, fashion and soccer are actually two worlds that intertwine and contaminate each other often, especially for the past 30 years. If for many decades, in fact, soccer players won the limelight (almost) only for their prowess on the field, since the late 1990s many champions have also turned out to be perfect models and influencers (when this term did not yet exist). At the same time, the fashion industry has now learned to move within the universe of football clubs, forging partnerships and prepositioning its professionalism. And this is how sportswear, from a purely technical topic, has turned into a matter of style.
Footballers as style icons
In the beginning was David Beckham. The former English midfielder can rightly be considered the forerunner of modern footballer-models. In fact, with his impeccable style and runway physique, he was one of the first sports icons to depopulate the catwalks. And in the years between the two millennia, paired with his spice-wife Victoria, he created one of the most photographed couples in the jet set. However, the list of eleven soccer champions that fashion has "taken possession of" is much longer. And within it are true gems from the past, such as Hidetoshi Nakata, a Japanese star who still in 2020 was chosen by Damiani as the face for its jewelry line and as the frontman of a humanitarian project. Running to more recent years, then, how can we not mention the ubiquitous Cristiano Ronaldo, a model coveted by all manufacturers of men's underwear (and more). The advent of social media, then, has thrown the doors wide open to a new generation of soccer player-influencers, who reap fans and successes especially among the younger generation. And so it is that soccer is in danger of churning out more style icons than cinema.
Fashion takes the field
The connection between footbal and fashion, however, does not stop at the figure of footballers raised to the role of models. On the contrary, the link between these two worlds runs deep, with fashion houses having taken the field for some years now revolutionizing the canons of sportswear. In fact, if the game jerseys are still a product entrusted to specialized companies, everything else in the wardrobe of the most emblazoned teams frequently bears the signature of major international designers. A few examples? Staying in Italy, we can start with the latest announcement in order of time: the partnership between Fendi and Roma. An agreement that follows on the heels of those signed by Emporio Armani with Napoli and the national team, Moncler with Inter and Harmont&Blaine with Milan. In addition, there are those who, like Dolce&Gabbana, presented numerous football-themed outfits during the last Milan Fashion Week and included them in their men's proposals for spring-summer 2023. The marriage between these two billionaire universes, therefore, is already a reality.
