World Cup: Yellow the new black as World Cup fashion sweeps Brazil
SAO PAULO – In a yellow-and-green outfit with matching shoes, eye glitter and fingernails, Ms Julia Barbosa was on her way to watch Brazil’s big match in a Sao Paulo bar.
But she looked like she could be strutting her stuff on a runway modelling Brazil’s latest fashion trend: World Cup style.
As the five-time champions wage their campaign to bring home their sixth world title, the 24-year-old marketing student was waging a campaign of her own.
“I’m going to have a different look for every match,” Ms Barbosa said proudly, posing for pictures in the outfit she bought for Brazil’s opening match against Serbia in late November.
Another planned outfit was a bikini top and shorts in the colours of the flag, which have flooded streets, shop windows and online stores in Brazil as the football-mad nation started its World Cup party.
Brazil beat South Korea 4-1 on Tuesday morning, Singapore time, to set up a quarter-final clash with Croatia.
Some Brazilians have eschewed yellow and green in recent years, which were associated with outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro and his far-right base.
But with the World Cup now under way and Mr Bolsonaro on his way out after losing the recent election to leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, fans are re-embracing “Brazilcore”, a streetwear fashion heavy on symbols of national pride and the yellow, green and blue of the flag.
Pop superstar Anitta and an army of influencers on social media have pushed the trend – redefining the symbolism of yellow and green.
The trend “aims to reclaim pride in the national colours, giving all Brazilians a sense of belonging, regardless of their politics”, said course coordinator Katia Lamarca of the European Design Institute in Sao Paulo.
LGBT influencer Lucas Belami, 20, was dressed for Brazil’s opening match in a sleeveless yellow top stamped with a sparkly Brazilian flag. “The LGBT community deserves to wear these colours again with pride,” he said with a smile in another Sao Paulo bar.
Engineer Vivianny Sales, 31, was also looking sparkly in a form-fitting T-shirt of blue sequins. “I wanted to shine, and I want the team to shine too,” she said.
“Brazil is the country of football, and it’s important for fashion to be attuned to what consumers – who are also football fans – want,” said fashion analyst Paula Acioli. “It has to have the right timing, be attractive and be assertive.”
One top Brazilian brand, flip-flop maker Havaianas, launched a new product line ahead of the World Cup celebrating “brasilidade”, or Brazilian-ness, with yellow-and-green sandals stamped with the iconic number 10 of footballers Neymar and Pele.
“Brands know the emotional pull of an event of this magnitude,” said Ms Lamarca. “That can translate to purchases and increase profits.”
Men have not stayed on the sidelines of the World Cup fashion frenzy.
Shop windows and online stores are packed with World Cup-themed clothing for men, with options going way beyond the traditional national team jersey, and sometimes even bordering on elegant.
Neymar and team led the way, arriving in Qatar wearing sleek, lightweight suits by renowned Brazilian designer Ricardo Almeida.
Almeida said the trend may be here to stay – “especially if Brazil win the World Cup”. - AFP
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