AnOther's Fashion Fantasy Football Team

The World Cup has been an emotional ride — disqualified players, obscene injuries, horrific losses and some ridiculous haircuts. However we can’t help but wonder, how would this have panned out in fashion? Would Alber Elbaz have taken a bite out of Tom Ford? Would Dolce & Gabbana have been sent home? As we gear up for the World Cup Final, AnOther consider what a winning fantasy fashion football team might look like.

COACH Vivienne Westwood
A football coach trains and manages the football team. A mentor amongst the players, they keep their men in line. Vivienne Westwood, now in the fourth decade of her career, is the grandmother of punk, known for shock tactics and ability to rewrite the rules of fashion, from her swastika T-shirts, bondage dresses and fetishism to her poetic swashbuckling pirates and political activism.

GOALKEEPER Phoebe Philo
Phoebe Philo immortalised the babydoll dress and iconic Paddington bag at Chloé before being appointed Creative Director for Céline in 2008, where she rebuilt the house with her chic minimalist style and signature Trapeze bags. However the foundation for a good goalkeeper is built upon footwork, and with her series of iconic wedges, cubic heels, fur and skater shoes, Philo is the ideal candidate who has proven that she never drops the ball.

DEFENDERS X 2 Raf Simons, Tom Ford
Typically tall, strong and brave, the defense team need to be able to support the whole squad as well as protecting the goalkeeper. From his impressive and influential roles at Christian Dior and Jil Sander while simultaneously heading up his own eponymous label, Raf Simons has proven a strong individual player who is also capable of supporting a team.

Elsewhere, Tom Ford, with his intuitive flair, passion and astute business acumen would be as confident in a tackle as he would be in defence, and would do so with charisma. His A/W14 collection includes a series of sequined football jerseys with his name emblazoned across the front, championed by Beyoncé. 

RIGHT BACK / LEFT BACK Gareth Pugh, Rick Owens
The right and left back play a similar defensive role, needing to jockey their opponents and move with agility and speed. Gareth Pugh is wickedly sharp, and could be sure to tred lightly and efficiently around the opposition, hopefully while wearing a latex mask.

Rick Owens coined the phrase, ‘glunge’ for his eclectic blend of grunge and glamour, redefining the face of sportswear and creating a loyal fan cult, who idolise his avant-garde knitwear, leather jackets and goth-meets-hip-hop vision.

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS x 2 Miuccia Prada, Sarah Burton
Described as the engines of the team, central midfielders pull the strings from the middle. While physically Miuccia Prada might appear an unlikely football candidate, she is a power player, turning her family’s heritage leather-goods company into a billion-dollar fashion empire and commanding street trends ever since her first nylon backpack in 1985.

Since she stepped onto the world fashion stage in 2005 as the successor to the Alexander McQueen label, Sarah Burton has quietly and astutely maintained the McQueen legacy, from Kate Middleton's wedding dress to the McQueen retrospective in New York.

LEFT / RIGHT WING MIDFIELDER Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs 
One of the most physically demanding positions, midfielders must have excellent awareness and excel at all aspects of the game. Karl Lagerfeld, the all-knowing German designer, left Balmain in 1958 with the line, “I was not born to be an assistant.” He went on to redefine the fashion houses of Chloé, Fendi and Chanel, where he continues to hold reign alongside his vast portfolio of personal projects. He designed a Chanel football in 2007 and this year teamed up with plastic footwear company Melissa (made famous by the Vivienne Westwood plastic heel) for a series of World Cup sandals. 

Lagerfeld would stand alongside fashion heavyweight Marc Jacobs, known for his diffusion line Marc by Marc Jacobs and his influential tenure as creative director at Louis Vuitton. Renowned also for his charismatic and often rebellious personality, his final S/S14 Louis Vuitton collection included a line of boxy football tops, which he dedicated to "the showgirl in all of us."

STRIKER / CENTRE FORWARD Rei Kawakubo
Strikers score goals, and from her 1996 padded 'Dress Meets Body' collection for Comme des Garçons to S/S14's sculptural wearable objects, Rei Kawakubo puts it in the back of the net every time.

SECOND STRIKER Jean Paul Gaultier
One of fashion’s greatest personalities, we’d like to envision Jean Paul Gaultier’s celebratory dance each time he scored a goal.

Compiled by AnOther
Text by Mhairi Graham