Taking a beat from a photoshoot for Nike’s latest LFC lifestyle collection, we spoke with Liverpool players, Virgil Van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Jarell Quansah and Marie Höbinger about the influence and importance of style in their lives.
In amongst the hustle and bustle of what was clearly a busy media day at Anfield, with a Trent Alexander-Arnold being shot in full home kit here, and a Ryan Gravenberch taking a breather from the melee there, I was able to procure a place of peace in what was probably the relatively unfamiliar ground for the players of the away changing room. The shirts of various legends were hung around the space, from Buffon and Cafu to Ronaldo and Henry (I was later told this had been done by Jamie Carragher, as he selected his greatest all-time opponents). The air conditioning was working wonders, lending a welcome contrast to the heat of the surrounding corridors and parking lots in which the shoot was taking place. A sweating Van Dijk, in particular, was quick to express his gratitude for the refrigerated space once his shoot had finished – the chill of the space matched only by the Dutchman’s inherent cool.
I found myself in this environment as part of the SoccerBible team tasked with shooting Nike’s latest LFC lifestyle collection. As a small unit of creatives on the day, we liaised at Liverpool Lime Street station before descending upon the historic stadium to get setup. The brief was pretty straightforward: capture stills showcasing the new apparel pieces on Liverpool players Virgil Van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Jarell Quansah, and Marie Höbinger. The collection itself sees an array of tonal red hues spread across a tracksuit, hoody and joggers, all designed for comfort and to be as much about style in everyday wear as they are about practicality, all while showing support for the team. The latter point is achieved once again through the use of the “YNWA” (You’ll Never Walk Alone) acronym, which has been central to Nike’s jersey designs and collections over the last couple of seasons. Here it’s applied through embroidered patch work on the hoodies, and through a similar, albeit more subtle, graphic on the tracksuit, carried across from this season’s home shirt design. The collection was debuted alongside the club’s new third shirt as part of Liverpool’s impressive win over bitter rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, and I was keen to get the players’ opinions of it and style in general in the brief one-on-one windows I could snatch with them.
“These types of collections are very important,” Van Dijk mused as he relaxes into the welcome cooler climate. Having shed the layers of the lifestyle collection, he sat back in a simple white vest top and loose fitting black trousers – a simple combo, but one that perfectly reflected his easygoing nature. “Whether it's hoodies, tracksuits, T-shirts, it's nice to have so many different options. Not everyone has the same style so it's nice to have that variation. This latest collection is looking good as well, so there will be many people looking to get something from it I imagine.”
"You can show a lot of confidence with style. If you look good off the pitch, I think you’ll look good on it as well." – Jarell Quansah.
It’s a sentiment shared by Quansah when his time comes for a chill. “They're good for the fans to show that they can get involved with what the players are wearing as well," he said, still in the zip-up hoody and track pant combo from the collection, as he sat forward, elbows on knees. "When they see pictures of us and they can replicate their idols, I think that's always good that they have that connection to the players.” Having seen them being sported by the team after the victory over United, you can only imagine that the collections’ appeal went up.
With introductions out of the way and the players relaxing into the peaceful setting, I got straight down to it, firing the same question at each player: do you think style is important, and if so, why? Van Dijk fielded the question as easily as he would a looping ball towards his back line: “I personally think so. We all – especially us players – we're seen on TV, on social media by so many people in the world and we have a lot of kids and people looking up to us. We're role models in so many ways, including the way we dress and how we express ourselves. And that's why football and fashion are all so important in reflecting your character.”
Höbinger, who casts such a different aura in the room compared to the hulking figures of Van Dijk, Gakpo and Quansah, sits attentively, naturally opting to perch on my right where the men sat on my left. “Yeah, I feel like I can be completely myself when it comes to my style and the clothes I wear and put on,” she says. “I feel like it reflects my personality as well and I really enjoy putting different fits together. I always like to be comfy firstly, but then look good as well. It's important to be able to show yourself in what you wear.”
Gakpo, sitting comfortably on the away changing room’s bench, Cafu’s shirt lingering just over his shoulder (an ominous presence that will have haunted many a winger in his day, thankfully not Gakpo on this occasion though) doesn’t hesitate with his answer. “I think it's important. I think everybody has their own style and I think it makes people feel good. If they can wear what they want it affects how they feel. Maybe they feel a little bit better. If you have nice clothes on you always feel a little bit prettier and a little bit more confident than if not.”
Finally, Quansah rounds off a pretty unanimous view on the subject: “Style is important because it's another way of showing who you are. You can show a lot of confidence with style. It's shown in how you walk around and how you carry yourself away from football. And normally if you look good off the pitch, I think you’ll look good on it as well.” It’s in his organic acknowledgement of the link between style and confidence that I was most intrigued, especially in how this carries on to the pitch.
“That's an interesting question,” Höbinger remarks as she mulls over just how she shows her own style, both on and off the pitch. The Austrian midfielder, who was instrumental in her first season at the club last year, helping guide the side to an unexpected 4th place finish in their return to the WSL, is clearly an intelligent individual (she casually mentions later that she studies psychology in her off-time), and her answers are calm and considered. “I feel like when you look good or when you're just confident in yourself and in your looks, then you obviously feel it and that’s the same on the pitch too. It’s obvious in your game as well, and in your attitude on the pitch. I think that’s one of the most important things in football, that you're confident and step up.”
Offering up an intriguing insight into his own clothing tastes, Gakpo said: “Off the pitch, normally, what I’d love to wear all day is a suit,” (images of the Dutchman stirring a Martini in a suit, then panning down to a ball at his booted feet come readily). “Unfortunately, I can't come to training in a suit!” (Darn) “But I really like track suits and sometimes a pair jeans. That's nice. On the pitch, I like to use tape on my right wrist. It's not for any reason, I just like doing it. It comes with me, so that's my style.”
Finding his rhythm with every passing question and really settling into the topic at hand, Quansah went on to say, “For me, I'm a little bit more subtle. I don't need to do too much, but I like to have a go sometimes. I think just showing that you're confident in what you're wearing and how you carry yourself…it’s exactly the same on the pitch. You should go out on the pitch with your chest out, shoulders back. That’s the main thing, just being confident in yourself.”
With all the players having strong views about the importance of style, I enquired as to whether they’d ever be interested in getting involved in the design of a clothing range themselves. “Never say never,” Van Dijk said. “I’d like to maybe do something for the kids, that's always a nice audience. I think it's always nice to look at the next generation. But you never know, maybe a collaboration in the future could be a possibility when the opportunity arises.”
It’s been an impressive start to the season for the men’s team under Arne Slot, while the women’s preseason preparations continue ahead of their WSL season opener against Leicester on 22 September. “I’m very excited about the new season for many different reasons,” Van Dijk explained, rounding off our conversation. “It’s another season to hopefully get success with the team and the club, because that's obviously what we're going to work for. Champions League is back and that's very exciting. I like the current vibe and how things are going at the moment.” Laid back, stylish, and unmistakably Liverpool. That’s the feel of the new collection, and, it seems, the players as a whole.
Photography by Elliot Huntley Wongwai for SoccerBible.
Shop the latest Nike LFC Collection at prodirectsport.com/soccer
