The WAG Jacket Part 2: European Football
Part 2 of the art of the customizable jackets turns to how the jacket has been incorporated into WAG style in European football thanks to Arsenal WAGs. Tolami Benson’s ‘87’ England jacket at the 2024 Euros became a cultural sensation thanks to Antonia Bronze, the custom jacket designer responsible for the trend in the Premier League.
Tolami Benson wears a custom-made leather jacket by Antonia Bronze to the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship in Berlin, Germany. Via IG @britishvogue and @tolami_benson. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Picture it: England has just won their first Euros match against Serbia in their campaign for the long elusive title of European Champs, Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal, and English football fans are in an uproar of excitement. Yet, all eyes are on Tolami Benson. The 23-year-old stepped out in the crowded stands in a custom-made leather jacket embroidered with the English national team’s logo and her partner’s, Arsenal right winger Bukayo Saka, first Arsenal jersey number.
Despite England’s lackluster performances in the Euros, English fans were clabbering for more solely to get a glimpse of Benson’s wardrobe. Benson’s popularity soared as she continued to show up in statement piece after statement piece, but the jacket remained the star of the show, especially when Benson paired it with a corset made from an English jersey to the finals. And it's all thanks to Antonia Bronze.
Tolami Benson attends a group stage match between England and Slovenia wearing a vintage England team jersey with high waisted shorts in Cologne, Germany. Photo by Ian MacNicol, courtesy of Getty Images, and made available via Cosmopolitan. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
It all started when Bronze, a young designer based in London, was invited by The 400 Club to attend her first football match at The Emirates Stadium between Arsenal and Chelsea. She brought along a small handbag she covered in a variety of Arsenal stickers, and once she posted it, the bag went viral. Bronze received hundreds of requests asking if she was selling, prompting her to consider the impact of designing Arsenal custom wear for a market highly in demand.
After encouragement from her close friends, she decided to send the bag to none other than Tolami Benson, and a partnership was born. Together, the two collaborated on a custom piece in the form of the 87 jacket - the iconic leather jacket featuring the English national team colors in color block patches while red strips of leather spelling Three Lions was stitched onto the sleeves.
Needless to say, the jacket catapulted Benson to the top of everyone’s list, with her fans on social media labeling her ‘WAG of the year’ in a take on tasteful athleisure that revived WAG culture in European football. Everyone from Harper’s Bazaar UK to Vogue named her the official ‘it’ girl of WAG fashion, leading the next generation of football WAGs into a style makeover. The response for Bronze was overwhelming. Fans began following her in an outpour of support for her brand as requests from other WAGs began to rush into her messages.
Gabrielle Figueiredo and Isabella Rousso wear custom-made leather jackets by Antonia Bronze to Arsenal games at The Emirates Stadium in London. Via IG @gaabisevero and @isabellarrousso. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
What started as a passion project for Bronze quickly grew into a trend within the Arsenal WAG circle as Gabrielle Figueiredo, wife to Arsenal center-back Gabriel Magalhães, and Isabella Rousso, partner to Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli reached out with requests for jackets of their own. Rousso’s maroon and white leather jacket features Martinelli’s name and number sprawled across the back while Figueiredo’s, who sported a matching one with her daughter, blends the Arsenal red and white with the Brazilian flag colors on the sleeves and the Arsenal cannon emblazoned with Magalhães’ number in the wheel.
Bronze’s jackets are adding a refreshing change in pace in WAG style that feels both luxe and laid-back. The extensive craftsmanship reflects a particular level of sophistication and detail that is often lacking in fan sports apparel, especially with the rise in dupes and fakes. The consideration that goes into the production of each jacket, such as the addition of embroidered national flags for each WAG’s home country alongside iconic Arsenal imagery, gives the jackets meaningful elements of identity. The customizable jacket symbolizes a movement towards embracing the individuality of WAGs rather than the sensationalism, a shift that we’re currently seeing take place in American football as well.
Unlike American football, European football has always exuded elegance while solidifying its place within the fashion world. Footballers have embedded themselves within the industry through partnerships with iconic luxury brands such as Marcus Rashford’s collaboration with Burberry to support UK youth charities and Memphis Depay’s content campaign with Valentino. Louis Vuitton famously launched a brand campaign ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi playing chess on a Louis Vuitton case in a viral post that earned a media impact value of $13.5 million. With collaborations that have united football and fashion as one in Europe, footballers have become some of the most sought after commodities within the fashion industry.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo star in a brand campaign for Louis Vuitton ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted in Qatar. Photographed by Annie Leibowitz for Louis Vuitton, November 2022. Available via Women’s Wear Daily. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
The sensation has been even more expressive with their wives and partners ever since The Sunday Telegraph reported that Jumeirah Beach Club in Dubai had dubbed wives and girlfriends of the football stars WAGs. 2006 saw an exponential rise in “WAG-mania” when famous England WAGs like Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Ann Tweedy and Coleen Rooney descended into the stands of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The women attracted heavy tabloid attention due to their spending habits and nights out, but it was their spray tans, blonde highlights and iconic fashion that made a lasting impression.
In recent years, WAGs have remained more lowkey about their lives while silently supporting their partners from the sidelines. Over time, their styles have transitioned from the 2000s era lowrise jeans to blazers paired with jerseys over baggy trousers or denim. Many have capitalized upon their status, starting fashion brands of their own to further the popularity that stems from the connection between sport and fashion. Take, for example, Izabel Kovačić, wife to Manchester City player Mateo Kovačić, whose label Izakova boasts 431,000 followers on Instagram and has dressed other WAGs for weddings and everyday casual.
Cheryl Ann Tweedy and Victoria Beckham attend a match between England and Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Nuremberg, Germany. Photo by Ross Kinnaird, courtesy of Getty Images, and made available via Dazed. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
The Arsenal WAGs are making a statement with their custom jackets, ushering in a long forgotten era of the iconic statements made by European football WAGs of the past. The jacket plays on the motifs from racing jackets made popular by fans of F1, combining racing stripes with football emblems in a twist on the trendy leather jacket. It's a reimagination of two sports made in a way that allows WAGs freedom of expression while supporting their partners on their own terms.
Bronze’s popularity has seen her expand to other members of the Arsenal family, including Yasmin Bergkamp, daughter of the legendary Arsenal striker Dennis Berkamp. The jacket was an ode to Bergkamp’s successful career at Arsenal, featuring the famous 05/06 Highbury kit with his number, the date of his unforgettable goal against Newcastle in 2002 and vintage Arsenal badges.
Her most recent partnership features Leah Williamson, captain of the England’s women’s national team and midfielder for the Arsenal women’s team, in a bright red custom jacket emblazoned with O2 on the front and Gooner on the back. With Arsenal gaining traction at the top of the Premier League table, there is potential for Bronze to continue to make a statement in WAG culture with her custom jackets.
