The world of soccer helps us express identity in many different ways that eclipse the sport itself – through music, chants and club anthems, tifos and street murals. It has also become a powerful influence on fashion, extending beyond team kits to the collections of major fashion houses and brands.
In 1998, Jil Sander became one of the first designers to reinterpret soccer footwear, working with Puma on a sneaker version of the Puma King cleat, famously worn by Brazilian football legend Pelé. The partnership helped open the door for the fashion-sports collaborations that are now commonplace in modern sports marketing. In the decades since, soccer and fashion have become increasingly intertwined.
Puma has collaborated with artist and streetwear designer KidSuper and U.S. men’s team star Christian Pulisic on a special version of the Puma Ultra 6 cleat.Supplied
Jerseys and cleats, in particular, have become recurring reference points for brands. In 2019, London skate label Palace Skateboards slapped its Penrose triangle logo on the kits of Italian club Juventus. In 2023, Demna Gvasalia, then the creative director of Balenciaga, designed a limited-edition kit for French team Stade Rennais. Nike and Adidas have reworked performance cleats into highly covetable lifestyle footwear, perhaps the most popular example being the Adidas Samba, which has its roots as a specialized soccer shoe for playing on icy pitches.
Certain players have also emerged as style icons in their own right, from David Beckham and his Y2K-era fashion choices to Spain’s Héctor Bellerín, a regular presence at Paris Fashion Week. More recently, the social media-fuelled “blokecore” trend has turbocharged interest in retro kits and indoor soccer shoes from the 1980s and 1990s.
With the 2026 World Cup expected to generate massive global attention, sportswear brands are using limited-edition collections and celebrity partnerships to compete for visibility beyond the pitch.
Style: The best merch to snag ahead of the World Cup
Here are the most striking style collaborations surrounding the tournament.
Kith x Messi for Adidas
In a three-way project for the World Cup, German giant Adidas has put together a team comprising New York retailer Kith, a force in the world of hyped sneakers, and superstar Lionel Messi, who hoisted the 2022 World Cup with Argentina. Together, the trio unveiled a soccer-focused collection to mark the 20th anniversary of Messi’s international debut and Kith’s 15th anniversary.
Designed by Kith founder Ronnie Fieg and Messi, the partnership includes both performance and lifestyle apparel along with six footwear styles. Models range from classic sneakers such as the Handball Spezial and Superstar to soccer-inspired silhouettes such as the Copa 17 Ultraboost and F50 Inframe walkable cleat.
Out now at Kith.com and the Kith Toronto flagship store
New Balance x Stone Island
The New Balance x Stone Island collection features the Abzorb 1890 sneaker.New Balance/Supplied
Italian luxury outerwear brand Stone Island and footwear staple New Balance, two brands that are beloved in soccer culture, continue their long-standing partnership with a collection spanning lifestyle footwear, apparel, accessories and on-pitch designs.
The release is decked out with Stone Island’s signature futuristic fabrics, as well as the brand’s nautical-inspired compass badge. The collection is anchored by the techy Abzorb 1890 sneaker, rendered in a muted olive green, and the Furon Elite FG v9 featuring heat-reactive artwork that changes with temperature. The accompanying campaign is fronted by the likes of London-born young gun Bukayo Saka, fresh off a Premier League title with Arsenal, and Brazilian star Endrick.
Out now at StoneIsland.com and the Stone Island Toronto flagship store
Puma x Salehe Bembury
Puma continues its creative partnership with U.S. designer Salehe Bembury on a statement capsule tied to the German brand’s 11 national team sponsorships, including Portugal, Morocco and Czechia. The collection highlights jerseys, shorts, footwear and track jackets, all featuring Bembury’s playful prints and patterns in tone-on-tone colours.
The release also introduces the co-designed Velum 1 Akita sneaker, which features Puma innovations such as Nitrofoam cushioning and a UV-reactive finish designed to change colour in sunlight.
In addition to the capsule with Bembury, Puma also collaborated with artist and streetwear designer KidSuper and U.S. men’s team star Christian Pulisic on a special version of the Puma Ultra 6 cleat, featuring a patriotic red, white and blue colourway adorned with stars that was released in late May.
Out now at Puma.com and Puma flagship stores
Style: With the World Cup around the corner, soccer kits have become a style statement
Nike x NOCTA
Drake’s NOCTA line is among seven brands enlisted by Nike for World Cup-related collaborations tied to Swoosh national teams. Nike’s efforts centre around a new sneaker silhouette called the Cryoshot, a hybrid performance-lifestyle shoe inspired by the Nike Mercurial cleat from 1998.
NOCTA’s version comes in a high-vis yellow colourway. There are also sleek black-and-red tracksuits as well as special jerseys in support of non-profit organization Canadian Women and Sport.
In addition to NOCTA, Nike’s X2 project brings together the Virgil Abloh Archive for the U.S., K-pop star G-Dragon’s Peaceminusone for South Korea, fashion label Jacquemus for France, skate brand Palace Skateboards for England, streetwear label Patta for the Netherlands and designer and artist Slawn for Nigeria.
Out now at NOCTA.com, and from select Nike retailers and the SNKRS app starting Tuesday
