Between the Champions League, NBA, and now Wimbledon and the FIFA World Cup, the summer of 2026 is all about sport. Naturally, football has become one of fashion’s biggest playgrounds this season. Nike has teamed up with Jacquemus for a French Football Federation capsule, Gabriela Hearst has designed Team Uruguay’s off-pitch uniforms, and Loewe has signed a four-year partnership to dress Spain’s national teams off-pitch.
Even outside the official team wardrobes, the spirit of the World Cup has trickled down to brands celebrating the mood of the season. Levi’s has a range of country-coded retro ringer tees to pick from, while the freshly dropped Reformation x Umbro collection offers sport-adjacent styles that don’t make you look like you raided your 14-year-old brother’s wardrobe minutes before the game.
The best action, though, is happening with a crop of independent designers who are splicing and reworking old football jerseys into something more fun and form-fitted. Conner Ives first sent down upcycled shirred football tops down his spring/summer 2024 runway, and there’s still one-of-one pieces waiting to be snapped up by the right sort of fan. Dilemma merges them with lacey, feminine corsets. Closer home, Delhi-based Duja’s waist-cinching, hand-embroidered reworked styles are almost sold out (a new drop is expected in the coming week).
Off the pitch, fan dressing too has become more inventive and personal. Earlier this month, Taylor Swift and the Haim sisters sat courtside at the NBA finals in pun-emblazoned DIY Knicks tees custom-made at home by Alana Haim herself. And just last week at the Knicks victory parade, artist and the first lady of New York City Rama Duwaji made headlines in a custom look by Miss Claire Sullivan made from upcycled bootleg Knicks tees.
