Marks & Spencer have loosened things up a little for the England team heading to Qatar
The subject of footballers doing formal is a thorny issue. The 1990s saw Gazza and his peers in high-shine suits, the fabric thrumming with so much static that it might catch alight at any moment. When it comes to footballers and fashion, for every Beckham – usually immaculate in a Ralph Lauren number – there’s a Ronaldo in a painfully tight, spray-on suit.
With the England’s team official portrait in their Marks & Spencer suits just out, we couldn’t help but notice just how casual the team look. Note the informal jollity – very ‘dad at a barbecue’. Nary a shirt in sight. Instead, a series of round-neck and zip-up knitted tops, alongside suits in tech fabric, Harrington jackets and bombers. Gone is the serious school-photo style set-up. In its place a more dynamic, peppy and friendly image, making them look – dare we say it – “fun”.
“They wanted something that better reflected who they really are,” says Marks & Spencer’s director of menswear Wes Taylor. “So rather than a structured suit, shirt and tie ‘uniform’, we’ve created a smart collection of separates that puts comfort, performance and sustainability at its heart.”
Fashion-wise, it works – kind of. Just as suits have become less mannered in recent years, the use of techy fabrics means they’re much more comfortable to wear too. Likewise the zipped polo shirts, which are much more in keeping with how 20- to 30-something guys actually wear tailoring these days.