Competition at the 2026 World Cup is not limited to the pitch. National teams’ official wardrobes, the Hermès and Chanel bags carried by players, and special collections created by fashion houses are turning the tournament into the biggest showcase in menswear.

One of the defining moments in the brief history of football’s relationship with fashion was when David Beckham wore a sarong or appeared in an Armani campaign. In the early 2000s, those moments were considered unusual. Today, the situation is entirely different. Alongside their sporting careers, footballers have become some of the most visible faces of global luxury consumption, menswear and popular culture. The space once occupied by Hollywood actors and musicians is now filled by figures such as Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Jules Koundé and Son Heung-min. Mbappé serving as a global ambassador for Dior, Bellingham appearing front row at Louis Vuitton shows and Koundé becoming one of the most closely watched guests at Paris Fashion Week are all signs of this shift. For fashion houses, football has become one of the world’s most powerful cultural platforms.

The 2026 World Cup is the most visible stage of this transformation to date. While the official wardrobes of national teams have been entrusted to fashion houses such as Loewe, Dunhill, Gabriela Hearst and BOSS, brands including Jacquemus, Willy Chavarria, Palace and Balenciaga are also incorporating football culture into their own aesthetic universes. And this collaboration goes far beyond designing jerseys.

2026 Dunya Kupasi Bellington
Credit: Pierre Mouton / Getty Images

Which Hermès bag the French national team arrived with at training camp (the Haut à Courroies, to be specific—a design dating back to 1892 originally created to carry equestrian equipment), how Spain looks in Loewe tailoring, or the Democratic Republic of Congo’s outfits inspired by La Sape culture are being discussed almost as much as the matches themselves. Perhaps the tournament’s most talked-about accessory was carried by France international Marcus Thuram: a vivid green Chanel bag from the brand’s 2019 collaboration with Pharrell Williams, now worth a small fortune on the collectors’ market.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest tournament in football history. For the first time, three countries—the United States, Mexico and Canada—are co-hosting the competition. It is also the first World Cup to expand from 32 to 48 teams, meaning more cities, more matches and a longer tournament calendar. Another defining feature this year is the unprecedented visibility of football’s cultural influence. Spread across three countries, dozens of cities and hundreds of millions of fans, the World Cup has become a global festival where fashion, music, design and popular culture intersect. Seen the performances by Shakira and Lisa? That is exactly why, in 2026, what players wear and which brands represent them are generating as much conversation as the football itself.