With star footballers now doubling as fashion icons — led by Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo who has his own underwear label — These are the the top five trends at the Euro 2016 championships.
Mohawk haircuts
Nothing gets you noticed more than a wacky haircut.
The hairdresser responsible for French star Paul Pogba’s spiral cockerel hairdo has been hired by the Portuguese squad to shave patterns on its stars’ heads.
Hairstyles can even turn matches, with Turkey’s Ozan Tufan blamed for defeat against Croatia for adjusting his fringe while Luka Modric scored.
But the hair trend of the tournament by far is for the Mohawk, a cut first made famous by David Beckham in 2000.
The England legend said it was inspired by the psychopathic Travis Bickle character in the classic 1976 film “Taxi Driver”. But that hasn’t stopped two stand-out stars of the Euros so far, Slovakian striker Marek Hamsik and France’s Dimitri Payet sporting it.
More sober shirts
After years of garish Dayglo designs, there is a marked return to a more sober classicism in football kits.
Italy, Germany, England and hosts France have all gone back to their roots, with Adidas’ handsomely simple Spain rig winning many fans.
More wearable tops also means more sales for the two big shirt makers, Adidas and Nike, who between them supply 15 of the 24 teams in the tournament.
Never underestimate the subliminal power of branding, sports analyst Renaud Vaschalde of research group NPD told AFP.
“Even unconsciously people will wear more Adidas, Nike or Puma clothing during the Euros,” he said.
Thigh length socks
With thigh-high boots making a comeback on the catwalks, footballers are right on trend by wearing their socks over their knees.
Half the French team and several Italian, Spanish, Irish, Russian and Swiss players have raised their garters if not always their game.
Chrome boots
They are so shiny you can see your face in them, and they certainly seem to have dazzled England’s goalkeeper Joe Hart. The chrome boots with which Wales superstar Gareth Bale scored one of the goals of the competition have no laces, and cost 300 euros ($335).
The new sock-like Adidas Ace 16+ Purecontrol boots have been called “Moon boots from Mars” and are tightened with a new pull-string mechanism. They are also being worn by France’s Pogba and German midfielder Mesut Ozil though yet to the same magical effect.
Scratch and sniff
The fashion faux pas of the tournament has come from an wholly unexpected quarter. Germany’s coach Joachim Loew was once a trendsetter, the man who pioneered cashmire cardigans on the touchline.
But his choice of a grey T-shirt which showed up his underarm perspiration was as unfortunate as his scratching his genitals on live television and then sniffing his finger.
While Loew apologised for the gesture — dubbed “Trouser-gate” by the German press — many will recall he was previously caught on camera picking his nose. (AFP)
