If you are a Gen Z football lover, there shouldn’t be any problem spotting the intertwined relationship between the beautiful game and fashion. Since David Beckham became a style icon in the late 90s, football and fashion have come closer like never before and are still growing old together like a happily married couple. Another Englishman, Reece James, recently followed the DB7 route in the fashion avenue, but it went horribly wrong.
After an injury-riddled season, Reece James is currently rejuvenating himself in Los Angeles, California ahead of the start of pre-season training. This presented him with the opportunity to walk in Doni Nahmias’ fashion event and he did so with a mop and a bucket. Yes, correct, the Chelsea captain suited up as a janitor for the event where he was seen mopping a basketball court (the ramp for the show) in pitch-black attire. It didn’t take long for the netizens to spot Reece James and his pictures sent X (formerly known as Twitter) into a meltdown.
What the hell is his PR team thinking allowing these pictures to see the light of day? https://t.co/IwRKZLtTd8
The merciless mockery started with comparisons between him and Liverpool‘s right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold, who will be wearing number 8 in the 2024 Euro Cup for England. A lot of the social media users used the word ‘Levels’ only to highlight the disparity between Reece and TAA as the former was not selected for the squad to compete in Germany. Surely these pictures will haunt James for the rest of his life with constant reminders of his wardrobe every time he fails to perform in the Chelsea blues.
England's #8 Trent Alexander Arnold and then there's mopping floor Reece James
The theme of Nahmias’ fashion show was ‘Physical Education’, which turned the Los Angeles recreation centre into a high school gym. Named the ‘Summerland High School’, it was about the brand owner’s reminiscing about his past life in California. The 90s theme was on full display with models walking down the hardboard in sleek outfits designed with a touch of the past. From a punk-haired model wearing an oversized sweater to basketball wear inspired by Kobe Bryant’s shorts over pyjamas look, everything seemed a throwback.
Among the other notable faces present at the event were Travis Barker’s son Landon Barker, who walked the ramp, and Machine Gun Kelly, who performed at the event.
For Reece James, next season will prove to be a test of whether he can reclaim his national team spot, and remaining healthy will be a challenge. The need to impress the new manager, Enzo Maresca is there, but this was not the best start from Reece, to say the least. Thanks to his red card in the recently concluded season’s final game, Reece will miss out 3 games at the start of the next campaign and if that wasn’t enough, this debacle of a PR show just made it tougher to play in front of a hostile English crowd who’d probably be on his back for shaming the country on American soil.
The Cobham alum is well-known for his affinity for fashion with trendy looks during interviews and an ever-changing array of hairstyles that could even make Paul Pogba envious. Reece James is also an avid timepiece collector with multiple Rolex, Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet in his collection. Following the massive hailstorm on Twitter due to his style statement in the land of Hollywood, Reece James would be keen to move forward to the next season to make everyone forget that this show ever happened. But as they say, football fans have a long memory.
