Fashion's footie fever! Famous footballers are big stars of brands

Football star Kylian Mbappe wears a special sunglass design he picked out for a collaboration. Photo: Oakley

The Fifa World Cup is currently in full swing. While everyone is surely focused on the game, take a little moment to appreciate your favourite footballers in fashion campaigns too.

From Kylian Mbappe to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and even entire teams, they have shown that footballers do indeed have good style.

Setting sights on a winner

Oakley recently released a pair of shades as an ode to Kylian Mbappe. It is said to be hand-chosen by the footballer, and perfectly merges the worlds of sport, technology and style. The Kylian Mbappe Signature Series Deadbolt sports a stem architecture using a single element to connect the frame and temples. The colour is a contemporary black and gold with a satin finish.

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V for victory

Louis Vuitton’s brand campaign, “Victory is a State of Mind”, stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, it sees the two football icons in a setting far from the field, facing off over a chessboard improvised from a Louis Vuitton Damier attache case. In 2010, the fashion house featured the all-time greats, Pele, Maradona and Zinedine Zidane, in a campaign as well.

Stylish kickoff

For a football collection, US streetwear brand Golf Wang recruited Hector Bellerin as a model. The designs comprise a jersey with vertical stripes and corresponding shorts, plus a pre-match tracksuit and hoodie. Interestingly, Bellerin has been dubbed the “world’s best dressed footballer”. He has expressed his interest in fashion in several interviews with the media in the past.

Footie favourite

The Hugo Boss Autumn/Winter 2022 eyewear collection features a lineup of famous names – one of them being Raphael Varane. Back in 2021, the footballer was already seen in a video produced by the brand in cooperation with GQ France, where he modelled several different eyewear designs. Hugo Boss has outfitted numerous football teams and has long association with the sport.

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A team effort

Back in September, Zegna announced that it has partnered Real Madrid. As the team’s “official luxury travelwear partner”, the fashion label dresses the footballers with exclusively-made Zegna outfits. The wardrobe included the signature overshirt and chore jackets, matched with jogger bottoms or narrow trousers and crewneck underpinnings as well as the signature triple stitch shoes.