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FASHION
BTS AT THE ENGLAND V SERBIA WATCH PARTY
By Lizzie Griffin, 17 June 2024
Last Sunday marked England’s first game of the Euros, so it only felt right to host the ultimate watch party. Joining forces with football media platform VERSUS, we transformed East London’s NT’s Loft into a footie-fuelled hub. While DJ Rosey Gold brought the bops and PS5 stations put the beautiful game in our guests' hands, Mayowa Quadri led a panel talk with VERSUS on the phenomenon of the football/fashion relationship. Scroll to soak up the vibes and find your jersey(s).
IN CONVERSATION WITH VERSUS
Fashion and sport have always been intertwined, but it's football that's getting all the attention right now, with players flexing ever-cooler ‘fits off the pitch and fashion brands exploring terrace style in their collections. We put our biggest questions to the VERSUS experts in a live panel talk on football’s fashion expansion, what’s next in this world, and the best collabs in the field right now.
Panellists: Morgan Allan, Art/Fashion Editor; Amie Cripps, Editor-in-Chief; and Johnny Kay, Chief Commercial Officer.
Why do football and fashion go so well together?
Mayowa Quadri, VERSUS Head of Brand: 'Fashion and football go hand in hand – both are forms of expression. As players become more experimental in their approach, it will only continue to fuel fans doing the same. Match ‘fits are a thing of the present and future.'
Why are you excited by this football and fashion surge?
Johnny Kay, VERSUS Chief Commercial Officer: 'What excites me most is the pace of change within the space. If you’d asked me back in 2019 – when I first joined VERSUS – what the football and fashion space would look like in five years, I could never have guessed how developed it would become. Brands are leveraging football more than ever, clubs are open to off-pitch and on-pitch collaborations, and players are right at the centre of the movement with their interests reflecting those of their fans in a way we’ve never seen.'
Who are the brands and clubs in this space doing it best?
Amie Cripps, VERSUS Editor-in-Chief: 'The clubs that are really showcasing the power of football and fashion right now have to be Arsenal, PSG and AC Milan. Their collaborations with the likes of Maharishi, Dior and Off-White alone cement their status as the most fashionable brands in football. Collab culture has infiltrated the game like never before, and these clubs routinely embody that, driving football into new spaces.'
What makes a great collaboration?
Morgan Allan, VERSUS Art Director/Fashion Editor: 'If you asked this question a couple years ago, the focus would have been on authenticity. It felt like fashion was a recent arrival in the sport and therefore any fashion activation had to tip its hat to the history of the game, the old way of being. Now it’s become a more established melding of worlds – the best football/fashion collabs for me are those that push the envelope. Football is a traditional industry with a lot of its storytelling reliant on nostalgia. Clubs would benefit from allowing the labels they work with to do what they do best: innovate.'
Mayowa Quadri, VERSUS Head of Brand: 'Fashion and football go hand in hand – both are forms of expression. As players become more experimental in their approach, it will only continue to fuel fans doing the same. Match ‘fits are a thing of the present and future.'
Why are you excited by this football and fashion surge?
Johnny Kay, VERSUS Chief Commercial Officer: 'What excites me most is the pace of change within the space. If you’d asked me back in 2019 – when I first joined VERSUS – what the football and fashion space would look like in five years, I could never have guessed how developed it would become. Brands are leveraging football more than ever, clubs are open to off-pitch and on-pitch collaborations, and players are right at the centre of the movement with their interests reflecting those of their fans in a way we’ve never seen.'
Who are the brands and clubs in this space doing it best?
Amie Cripps, VERSUS Editor-in-Chief: 'The clubs that are really showcasing the power of football and fashion right now have to be Arsenal, PSG and AC Milan. Their collaborations with the likes of Maharishi, Dior and Off-White alone cement their status as the most fashionable brands in football. Collab culture has infiltrated the game like never before, and these clubs routinely embody that, driving football into new spaces.'
What makes a great collaboration?
Morgan Allan, VERSUS Art Director/Fashion Editor: 'If you asked this question a couple years ago, the focus would have been on authenticity. It felt like fashion was a recent arrival in the sport and therefore any fashion activation had to tip its hat to the history of the game, the old way of being. Now it’s become a more established melding of worlds – the best football/fashion collabs for me are those that push the envelope. Football is a traditional industry with a lot of its storytelling reliant on nostalgia. Clubs would benefit from allowing the labels they work with to do what they do best: innovate.'
Pictures: Jahnay Tennai
