With the World Cup concluded and Spain celebrating, it’s a good moment to review the style of this 2026 edition in six key trends.
Blokecore
This World Cup arrived at a unique moment. Traditionally, World Cup summers are when kits explode onto the market, refreshed specifically for the tournament. However, the 2020s brought something new to the streets: blokecore. Football design completely departed from its original function, evolving into a style we’ve seen in hundreds of workwear pieces, becoming the uniform of a new generation. For the first time, by the time the World Cup arrived, jerseys were already a trend. Football shirts stopped being mere identifiers of team loyalty and became a matter of style. This edition even saw previously overlooked goalkeeper kits join the celebration.
Retro 1994
In this tournament, hosted by three countries, the U.S. stood out. This naturally recalled the 1994 World Cup in the United States. At that time, the context was very different, with no professional league and a sport eager to enter new markets. For many current football communicators, it was their first World Cup memory. The 2026 edition evoked 1994: U.S. denim kits, Mexico goalkeeper Jorge Campos’s colorful jerseys, and oversized EQT stripes resurfaced through adidas collaborations with BAPE, Willy Chavarria, or Brain Dead.
Collaborations
While not entirely new, 2026 showcased adidas, Puma, and Nike collaborating with diverse brands across disciplines: Jacquemus, Palace, Patta, Virgil Abloh Archive, or Salehe Bembury were directly linked to teams and official kits. BAPE, Willy Chavarria, SP5DER, and KITH leveraged this momentum to connect with football beyond official deals, exploring the limits of “official” apparel. In Coca-Cola’s case, irony was part of the strategy, creating bootleg-inspired pieces.
Pink
In a tournament where each player has a color identity, pink emerged as the main conversation topic. Most major brands used pink as the base color for their boots, creating a strange uniformity: from a distance, everything looked the same. Chosen for its high contrast with the green pitch, the effect was the opposite of expected. By the second stage, adidas and Nike introduced new packs that softened the pink impact.
Football and Luxury
Since 2010, Louis Vuitton has been an official World Cup collaborator, visible in the Trophy Trunk. In 2026, LV advanced further, becoming Official Supplier and Brand Licensee, enabling limited capsule collections and luxury travel accessories inspired by the tournament. Hublot, also under LVMH, serves as official timekeeper, and Boggi Milano is FIFA’s official tailor. Among teams, Zegna dresses Portugal, Loewe Spain, and Hugo Boss the United States. Luxury has firmly entered international football competitions.
Spain’s Away Jersey
Official team kit presentations are complex, requiring balance between stories, sensitivities, and design adjustments. This year, the adidas Spain away jersey made an immediate impact at its official Los Angeles unveiling, reviving the adidas trefoil, telling a story tied to literature, and offering elegant design. Rarely do presentations receive unanimous praise. The away jersey sold out in every restock and flooded the streets (even beyond official models), creating a new phenomenon for Spain. With Spain’s victory, this jersey may already be considered a legendary design.
Time will tell whether these trends are here to stay or will be forgotten among memes. Now, there are only four years left to wait for the next edition of the World Cup.