The best-dressed countries at the World Cup aren’t decided on the pitch

Fashion

Luxury fashion houses, breakout local designers, and an Australian favourite have turned the 2026 FIFA World Cup into a series of mini-runways. From DR Congo’s leopard suits to Loewe’s tailoring for Spain, here’s who’s winning off the pitch.

The Socceroos dressed by M.J. Bale. Image: Supplied

In fashion circles, the arrival shots at this World Cup — players filing off the team bus and through airport terminals — are being dissected online almost as closely as the football.

FIFA projects six billion people will watch at least one match, and luxury houses have fought to dress teams off the pitch as much as on it. Where World Cup tailoring once meant a Nike tracksuit or a two-piece suit accessorised with a team tie, this year several squads have pushed the sartorial envelope in new directions.

Here’s some of our favourite looks from the tournament so far.

Côte d’Ivoire (Ibrahim Fernandez)

Côte d’Ivoire arrived in all-white mandarin-collar shirts and wide-leg trousers under collarless orange blazers; each one custom tie-dyed, finished with elephant-shaped buttons and an embroidered elephant across the back that reimagines the West African nation’s coat of arms. The look was created by local designer Ibrahim Fernandez, with the elephant motif on the shirt rendered in diamonds.

France (Jacquemus)

Not every country went the tailoring route. Nike ran its own play, a seven-nation programme pairing federations with designers and labels for pre-match collections — the warm-up gear worn before kickoff, sold to fans. France drew Jacquemus.

Simon Porte Jacquemus, the eponymous Provencal designer, kept it restrained; favouring a deep blue colourway with fine red and white pinstripes that could pass for the kit itself, modelled by Mbappé and Dembélé, finished with a white Cryoshot boot reworked from the Tiempo boot Ronaldinho wore in 2005.

Australia (M.J. Bale)

A wardrobe staple for the Friday-drinks crowd around Martin Place and Barangaroo, M.J. Bale is dressing Australia’s World Cup squad for the third time.

The brand re-signed as Official Tailor of the CommBank Socceroos this campaign, after the same job in 2014 and 2022. It kits out the playing squad, coaching staff and support team for travel, matchdays and official appearances — the Churchill suit doing the heavy lifting, cut from 100% Australian Merino, which founder Matt Jensen calls the finest natural fibre the country produces.

Spain (Loewe)

Spain handed its travel wardrobe to Loewe for the duration of a four-year partnership, through to the 2030 tournament it co-hosts with Portugal and Morocco. The house is renowned for its characterful leather goods, made in Madrid since 1846, and is part of the LVMH group. Its partnership, arriving around the time of the brand’s180th anniversary, finally puts the name of a Spanish fashion house to that of a Spanish team.

Loewe made the suits in its own workshops, with the only branding being a small anagram logo sewn inside the sleeve — strategically located so that it only appears when a player moves. Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (who fashion pundits will doubtless know from Proenza Schouler) have said their aim was to channel the vivacity of Spanish culture back into the house.

The Spanish national team players and their coach, Luis de la Fuente, before catching their flight to the World Cup, at Santiago-Rosalia de Castro Airport, wearing Loewe. Image: Getty

DR Congo (JMAKxPARIS)

When DR Congo landed in Houston for their first World Cup in 52 years, the squad came off the plane in black silk crepe suits with velvet leopard-print lapels, gold leopard brooches, elephant embroidery, and matching handcrafted travel bags. The look went viral within hours — and it’s not hard to see why.

The designer is Alvin Junior Mak, Congolese-born and Paris-raised, founder of the house JMAKxPARIS.

Mexico (Willy Chavarria x Adidas)

Our final inclusion isn’t a ‘team look’ per se, but a World Cup collab that nonetheless deserves a mention. The host nation marked the tournament with “Comienza Con El Sueño” — “it begins with the dream” — a collection by Mexican-American designer Willy Chavarria for Adidas, first shown on his Autumn/Winter 2026 runway.