As suited and booted Socceroos stepped off the bus in Vancouver and towards a 2-0 victory against Turkey, many dangled designer pouches. Tete Yengi and Mo Touré carried what appeared to be Goyard, the it-bag of choice for athletes world wide. Burberry checks and monograms from Louis Vuitton and Dior were also spotted.
“They’ve come a long way from a Country Road bag on the side of the field,” said Benjamen Judd, Esquire Australia’s head of content.
The Socceroos’ suits were from Australian tailoring brand MJ Bale, but the luxury bags were “their own flair”, said Susie Thompson, partnerships and communications manager at MJ Bale.
“You see some of the overseas basketball teams and they have their ‘tunnel moments’ in designer wear,” Thompson said, referring to the pregame walk that has become the catwalk of sports.
“There’s an element of that emulating through international sport, and having their ‘moment’ arriving, and I think they’ve accessorised accordingly, which is kind of cool.
“We’re pretty proud to sit there with international luxury brands.”
Judd said lately football is beginning to rival the NBA’s long-established fashion chops. Players, fans and brands alike have “leaned into the boys and their it-bags”.
Over the weekend, the Austrian captain David Alaba sported a $70,000 Birkin, while France’s Marcus Thuram caused a stir with a limited edition, emerald green Chanel flap bag.
Judd does not expect to see quite the same opulence from Australian players any time soon. While “the two Goyards are nice … the orange and the blue”, several Socceroos’ pouches were “really simple”, he said. “One looked like an airline business class bag.”
Australia’s Jacob Italiano may have been carrying Dior, but he paired it with “a little plastic thing”, Judd said. “I’m not sure they were taking it that seriously.
“The biggest players have all got stylists … Our boys don’t have stylists.”
Even the Australian team’s official suit, made from Australian merino wool, is “practical” and “accessible”, Judd said. “MJ Bale is the business district uniform of Australia. Like you go to Martin Place, or … Collins Street, and it is the suit du jour.”
Choosing that particular suit label for the Socceroos kit is “genius”, Judd said. It speaks to Australian athletes’ relationship to fashion more broadly. “There’s just generally a little bit more humility.”
Also, realistically, “our soccer stars are getting paid substantially less than their international counterparts”.
