Tunnel #38 - Fast fashion won the 2026 World Cup
And Nike's most epic commercial ever
The 2026 World Cup will be remembered as the World Cup of fast fashion. Alongside the traditional sportswear giants, an increasing number of fast fashion brands are seeking to establish a presence within the imagery and culture surrounding the World Cup. It is not so much the existence of these collections that stands out, but their sheer ubiquity.
Football jerseys have become increasingly technical and carefully designed products, resulting in steadily rising prices. At the same time, major events such as the World Cup generate enormous demand for football-related merchandise, prompting many fans to seek out more affordable alternatives, including counterfeit shirts. This highlights the fact that the desire to identify with a team or take part in the tournament often exceeds the ability or willingness to purchase official merchandise, creating an opportunity for fast fashion retailers to step in with their own collections.
At first glance, this phenomenon may appear to be a sign of a crisis in traditional merchandising. However, the numbers tell a different story: the global licensed sports merchandise market continues to grow, and forecasts point to further expansion in the years ahead. In short, sports merchandising is not dying — it is changing shape.
Real Madrid have unveiled their new Home kit, which features pink and green. Chelsea also unveiled their new Home jersey, but they did so during a WWE show. Venezia has changed the colours of their crest, which got us thinking: which Serie A team has had the same crest for the longest time? We also have a question for you: have you ever seen football boots change colour when heated?
Padel is the latest sport to attract luxury brands, with Ravenna by Cipriani designing an exclusive line featuring two exclusive luxury rackets that transform technical equipment into a stylish statement.
Serena Williams is back. She has announced that she will return to professional tennis by participating in the next edition of the Queen’s tournament. A few weeks ago, we wrote about a possible comeback, and the announcement could not have come at a better time, as we had just published photos of her from the 2002 Roland Garros tournament, in which she wore a kit inspired by the iconic sleeveless design created by PUMA for the Cameroon national team.
PSG won the 2025/26 Champions League, and we were in Paris to capture the fans’ excitement on this historic night. The day after, we were in London too where the sadness over the defeat did nothing to spoil the parade celebrations on the streets.
Nothing to say here. Just enjoy Nike’s epic film for the 2026 World Cup. It’s well worth watching.
Of all the things we saw this week, including the unveiling of Jacquemus’s collaboration with the French national team, the craziest has to be this Lego pennant created for the Netherlands. See you next week!