SEOUL: Soccer kits have long spilled over from the field to the streets, with big names in fashion having an increasing role in what players wear.
For this World Cup, labels have rolled out national-team gear, collaboration collections and boots reworked for the street.
One of the biggest collaborations unites Nike, G-Dragon's PeaceMinusOne and the Korea Football Association.
Called "Tigers of Asia," the capsule pairs the KFA's signature design elements with PeaceMinusOne's daisy motif, framing the identity of Korean soccer in streetwear terms.
The collaboration is part of a larger Nike project that matched seven national teams with brands and artists for the World Cup.
France went to Jacquemus, Canada to Nocta and England to Palace. Korea, represented by G-Dragon, is the only Asian country in the lineup.
G-Dragon designed the capsule himself. Beyond the warmup T-shirts the national team wore before its match with the Czech Republic, the collection includes a black puffer jacket with a back print, a track jacket and chino pants.
The daisy motif is at the heart of it.
The flower is G-Dragon's favourite and the longtime signature of PeaceMinusOne, which is why it sits on the back of the national-team piece. The familiar white-and-yellow daisy has been embellished in pink and sky-blue embroidery that echoes the Korean flag.
Nike's swoosh is subtly woven into the design as the teeth of a tiger, the emblem of the Korean team, closing around the flower.
The standout item is the Cryoshot. Built on Nike's archive CTR360, it wraps the soccer studs in a rubber outsole and remakes the silhouette as an everyday sneaker. It blurs the line between match boot and street shoe, and it is the piece drawing the most attention.
Korea won that match on Friday (June 12), by 2-1, in. The daisy print on the players' tops drew eyes before kickoff.
"Tigers of Asia" officially launches Tuesday at 10am through Nike SNKRS and select retailers. - The Korea Herald/ANN
