Soccer’s biggest stars are bringing their fashion A-game to the World Cup 2026.
The 48 teams competing across the United States, Canada and Mexico began touching down in early June, trading their tracksuits for sharp tailoring, designer luggage and splashy displays of local color.
The tournament arrives as soccer’s fashion crossover hits a new peak. Luxury houses are jostling to dress national teams — Nike paired with Jacquemus on France’s travel wardrobe, and Loewe inked its first major sporting deal with Spain, for example.
Even the opening ceremony came dressed to the nines, with Katy Perry performing in silver fringed Stella McCartney at SoFi Stadium Friday night.
The Democratic Republic of Congo made the loudest entrance. The squad, nicknamed Les Léopards, arrived in Houston in custom black suits trimmed with animal-printed sashes and cheetah-shaped brooches. Alvin Junior Mak, a Congolese designer, created the suits and a set of travel bags to match.
The trip was historic — DR Congo’s first World Cup since 1974, when it became the first sub-Saharan African nation to qualify.
France, predictably, also came to flex. Les Bleus rolled into Boston Logan toting a boutique’s worth of designer bags.
Forward Michael Olise carried a large black Hermès Birkin, while winger Ousmane Dembélé brought two of his own — a black and a tan. Their teammates kept the tarmac runway show going: Marcus Thuram with a lime-green Chanel x Pharrell flap bag, Robin Risser with a Louis Vuitton Keepall and Rayan Cherki with a sand Hermès Kelly Maxi.
Japan kept things buttoned up. The Samurai Blue have worn British house Dunhill for over 25 years, and arrived in navy three-piece suits finished with silk pocket squares in woodblock-print motifs.
The tailoring picked up an unexpected topper in Monterrey, where Nuevo León Governor Samuel García greeted each player with a cowboy hat.
Spain made its entrance in Loewe, the first time the Madrid house has dressed a national team. Creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (formerly of Proenza Schouler) designed the squad’s tailored suits, polo shirts, leather Puzzle bags and XL Amazona 180 totes.
Côte d’Ivoire, known as Les Éléphants, touched down in Philadelphia in orange-and-yellow tie-dye jackets with the national animal embroidered across the back. Ivorian designer Ibrahim Fernandez created the pieces in homage to traditional Dida cloth.
Senegal’s Lions of Teranga continued a tradition begun at the Africa Cup of Nations, traveling in gray-and-green ensembles by Dakar label Xakeb.
The tournament runs through July 19, and the trophy — and best-dressed title — is still anyone’s to win.
Read the full article here
