Sebastian Giovinco in Enfant Riches Déprimés — is that even real?

Football has changed in many ways over the past decade. Among these, the destinations chosen by players have also undergone a significant transformation. First China, then Alessandro Del Piero’s seasons in India and Australia, followed by the United States, with an increasingly spectacular MLS and a football movement in rapid growth—especially with the Club World Cup coming in the summer of 2025 and the World Cup in 2026. Finally, the exodus of countless superstars to Saudi Arabia. All these changes have inevitably influenced the personal lives of footballers as well: new motivations, new influences, and more simply, new social contexts. Naturally, when moving from Naples to Toronto—as in the very intentional example of Lorenzo Insigne—players gain new experiences, come into contact with different cultures, explore other social circles, encounter a new celebrity system, and adopt different styles of dressing. After all, who would have imagined seeing the inventor of the tiraggir in a full OVO look, the brand owned by Drake?

Footballers’ way of dressing has evolved: they have inevitably opened up to new trends and overseas influences. In particular, we're talking about those European players who have chosen to move far from home. The image of the Mauro Icardi-type footballer has faded—or in some cases disappeared entirely: full Givenchy, McQueen, Dsquared2, and Philipp Plein looks now seem like a distant memory, belonging to a small minority. The aesthetic conformity that for years characterized players' appearances has also diminished. A photo of Sebastian Giovinco wearing a T-shirt from Enfant Riches Déprimés—an avant-garde luxury brand founded by Alexander Levy—is emblematic of this shift. It’s a highly niche label that’s surprising to see on a footballer. Although ERD has over the years expanded distribution to multi-brand stores like Selfridges and Maxfield, it remains a research-driven brand. The Giovinco case, then, is just the tip of the iceberg: many players have moved away from the usual brands in favor of more curated, less footballer-like labels, far from heavily logoed pieces or the typical sneaker rotation.

The Disappearance of Logomania and the Rise of New Trends Among Footballers

All of this is the result of the spread of new trends. Logomania hasn’t just faded among fashion enthusiasts—it has also disappeared among footballers, who now show greater style awareness and sophistication. This shift is largely due to changes in their habits: in their free time, many are increasingly attending fashion weeks, gala events, or mainstream pop culture appearances.

All of this has contributed to the development of a taste completely different from the one that dominated between 2010 and 2020. Staying in Italy and beyond the Giovinco case, two interesting—albeit very different—examples are Edoardo Bove and Cyril Ngonge. The former is a big fan of Scandinavian brands, from Our Legacy to Sunflower, while the latter seems to be the first true Italian fan of Bottega Veneta and Prada: he’s crafted a distinct aesthetic of his own. And we can’t forget the rediscovery of Oakley’s vintage archive, loved by players like Jules Koundé and Raphinha. Today, players really seem to have developed a genuine understanding of what fashion means, especially when it comes to building their personal branding.

Recently, we interviewed Markus Solbakken, a newly promoted footballer with Pisa, who—just like Bove—has discovered the charm of Scandinavian brands, becoming in every way a scandi boy: “My favorite brand is probably Holzweiler, a Norwegian brand, along with Acne Studios. Or even Samsøe Samsøe, which is also Scandinavian,” he told us. It’s fascinating to imagine footballers discovering Scandinavian aesthetics—in perfect contrast to the logomania that once dominated their wardrobes—and reinterpreting it as a sort of uniform made of muted palettes and restrained silhouettes, to convey a low-profile image, away from the spotlight.