Footballers' tunnel walk turns the World Cup into a fashion runway
Even before kickoff at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the walk from plane to tunnel has become a fashion show. Players arrive in luxury brands, and the tunnel walk, watched by hundreds of millions, has turned into one of the media’s biggest attractions. FIFA says six billion people will watch at least one match this year, underscoring why brands see the tournament as a major cultural and commercial platform.
The article says elite fashion houses and sports brands are fighting to dress national teams and individual stars, especially as the luxury market slows. Spain signed with Loewe, and its players wore blue suits, light blue polos and leather bags. France did not choose one house, instead showcasing the French luxury sector through Dior, Chanel, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. Ousmane Dembélé carried a Hermès bag, Jules Koundé carried Louis Vuitton, Marcus Thuram was seen with a green Chanel bag from 2019 valued at about $15,000 on the secondhand market, and Kylian Mbappé, named a Dior ambassador in June 2025 by Jonathan Anderson, wore Dior pieces.
Mbappé, who earns about $95 million a year, gives Dior and LVMH access to markets on four continents and a younger audience. England’s Jude Bellingham, named a Louis Vuitton ambassador in 2024 and described as the most fashionable player at Euro 2024, was valued in 2025 at $50 million and earns about $27.5 million a year from Real Madrid alone. The piece says luxury companies are using players as marketing tools because they bring massive social media reach, including Cristiano Ronaldo with 666 million Instagram followers, Lionel Messi with 507 million, and Neymar with 235 million.
The trend began with David Beckham, who used his football fame to become a fashion icon and worked with 41 brands, including Armani and Tommy Hilfiger. Ronaldo followed with his own fashion brand, and in 2022 he and Messi starred in a viral Louis Vuitton campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz. Sportswear companies are also leaning into luxury, with Nike partnering with Jacquemus and the Virgil Abloh archive, Adidas working with American-Mexican designer Willy Chavarria and reportedly spending about $67 million on its World Cup campaign, and Puma collaborating with British-Nigerian designer Ferya Alvalia. Analyst Aner Shevah of Bezalel says the shift reflects a broader fusion of streetwear, luxury and global sports visibility, as football shirts themselves become fashion items.
