BECOMING FOOTBALL’S FASHION ICON: HECTOR BELLERIN
Photography By Kieran Clarke
Hector Bellerin moved to London to join Arsenal at the tender age of 16, but it’s back home in Barcelona where his appreciation for fashion was really born. Growing up with a Grandma who founded a clothing factory, an awareness of good dress sense has never been too alien to him. Whilst football is Hector’s first love, fashion seems to be a close second.
Hector ‘Heccy B’ Bellerin takes a casual yet slick approach to dressing, there’s no doubt that there aren’t many players out there matching the levels Arsenal’s adopted son is hitting. Just taking a scroll through his instagram, it’s super clear he’s a man with a distinctive eye for what looks good, not the lurid take many footballers seem to adopt. It’s subtle, understated, but it’s admirable how he’s able to pull off looks with such finesse.
We could talk about the countless looks Bellerin has put together over the years but, it’s only right we recap on his top 3 moments where he reinstated his position as football's fashion icon.
Firstly, and possibly most notably, was his appearance at Louis Vuitton’s SS20 show for Paris Fashion Week. Not any kind of appearance, Hector Bellerin swapped the pitch for the runway, the red and white Arsenal strip for a full fuschia LV fit, in a move that further unified the growing relationship between football and fashion. He didn’t look out of place at all. Comfortably strutting through the streets of Paris, one wouldn’t have thought this was his first rodeo on the catwalk. It’s only right the opportunity was presented to him by Virgil Abloh, an avant garde fashion designer who continuously aims to shake up and challenge the monotony of the industry.
Talking of challenging the status quo in fashion, none other than Heccy B himself did that in abundance with a fit that inevitably became the hot topic post during London Fashion Week in 2019. It’s unsurprising the most outlandish fits are exhibited in central London when the world’s eyes are watching, but Bellerin still managed to turn all the heads with a simple yet unforgettable fit.
Donning gold Zimmermann pyjamas, paired with Gucci loafers and a Neil Barret jacket, a fit that you mightn’t even be able to comprehend, he managed to not only pull it off, but look like he owned whatever building he was entering, his shoulder length locks and gold chain completing the iconic look. Whilst many may ridicule or mock the outfit choice, it once again just goes to show that when it comes to fashion, Hector Bellerin really exists in a league of his own, constantly challenging the rules of fashion and uniting clothing pieces that never really belong together.
It’s not just putting designer pieces together that Hector Bellerin seems to have a knack for, he showcased his stylistic skills as an integral part of the 424 x Arsenal pre match suit collaboration they have been wearing during the 2019/20 season. Responsible for making the collaboration happen in the first place, utilising a pre existing friendship with 424 co-founder Guillermo Andrade, Bellerin turned stylist and creative director for the launch of Arsenal’s first formal womenswear collection, highlighting that his fashionable eye can also be loaned to others to help them stand out.
Whether it’s long hair, short hair, no hair (as we’ve seen most recently), the statement dangly earring, complimentary jewellery, or his iconic collection of beanies and bucket hats, It’s without a doubt that Hector Bellerin has really created a cohesive brand for himself not only as a footballer but as a man with a real taste for fashion.