Every now and then, a trend that is quintessentially British makes its way over to the States where they treat it as the best thing since sliced bread. Once upon a time, it was Drake’s new-found Stoney obsession that came with a hearty helping of Skepta features, ‘Gyalchester’ references and a logo-shaped chain. Now, the very ‘fit your dad would wear to the football is trending on TikTok, and it’s racking up views faster than you can say ‘Fackin Millwall.’ Coined ‘Blokecore’ by fashionistas, here’s why the internet is obsessed with all-things football fashion.
We know what you’re thinking – Blokecore can’t be real, right? There’s no way teens on TikTok are parading round in Newcastle United shirts and thinking it’s some kind of edgy fashion statement. Well, we hate to be the ones to tell you this, but – they are. In fact, the term ‘Blokecore’ has over 94.2 million views on TikTok, and they pretty much all consist of kids showing off how they style themselves in retro football kits whilst listening to The Jam or The Streets. Some of them have tongue-in-cheek captions about it being considered ‘cultural appropriation’, some of them have travelled to football stadiums ‘purely to dress like a bloke.’ In separate news, fashion killa A$AP Rocky even donned a ‘96-’97 Man Utd shirt in his latest music video. Even more interesting is that searches for the ultimate casual’s shoe, the adidas Samba have gone up 52% YoY – suggesting that the trend takes itself far more seriously than just classic football shirts.
In reality, the relationship between football and fashion is nothing new, it’s just enjoying a bit of a renaissance right now. Sam Nicklin is Head of Visuals at Art of Football , and says that it’s a trend that football fans have actually seen coming for a long time. “With 90's and Y2K fashion trends coming back left right and centre, everyday football shirts were guaranteed to kick in eventually. Football is a part of British culture, and the whole 'bloke' stereotype went from irony to a legit fashion trend. It's like junior school non-uniform, but with beer included.”
However, the crossover between football and fashion hasn't always been entirely ‘blokeish,’ in fact, designers and brands have been taking inspiration from the beautiful game for a while, and you only have to scroll Instagram for a couple of seconds to see Bellerin and co flashing their designer ‘fits. But if typical lad culture isn’t really your thing, here are some of our favourite times football and fashion have come together...