ALL THAT I KNOW ABOUT MORALITY AND OBLIGATIONS, I OWE IT TO FOOTBALL

World Cup summer is in full swing: a season of screen-affixed gazes, hypnotic street chants, skin chafing in spandex jerseys, and never-ending beer hangovers.

ANTON track jacket ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), shorts GESTUZ, jewelry OFF-WHITE MIMI polo ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), shorts CLOSED LUTHANDO T-shirt ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), pants GMBH, chain MODEL'S OWN.

As part of 032c's collaboration with Zalando, one of the main sponsors of the German Football Association (DFB), we aimed to highlight the alternative culture of the pitch. While soccer’s complex dimensions are often reduced to the very apparent, empowerment and communion have always constituted the base of the sport — and disobedience still underpins it all. Our editorial, shot by Ela Klingler and styled by Franka Rosa Maria Klaproth, materializes these guiding beliefs through the lens of Zalando's seasonal styles.

To get insight into how soccer, fashion, and kinship converge on the bleachers and in sports bars today, Luna Sferdianu additionally shot some rapid-fire questions to the editorial talents. In between changes of jerseys, the four models laid out their emotional relation with the sport (or lack thereof), witty takes on rowdy fan culture, and the style inherent in soccer.

LEFT: LUTHANDO T-shirt ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), pants GMBH, chain MODEL'S OWN MIMI polo ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), shorts CLOSED, earrings HUGO KREIT.

Luthando

jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS shirt DSQUARED2.

Luna Sferdianu: What’s your relationship to soccer?

Luthando Ngema: I don't have a relation to soccer, but I do have a relation to football. In South Africa, football is a religion. I grew up with it, I absolutely love it.

LS: On an axis of football player to watcher, where would you position yourself?

LN: I like watching it, but I am more of a player.

LS: What would you wear for football practice?

LN: My cleats, shorts, and a jersey.

LS: What would you wear to a game?

LN: Probably the jersey of the team I am supporting. If they don’t have one, anything casual.

LS: Favorite team?

LN: Bayern Münich.

LS: Favorite football-adjacent memory?

LN: My fifth birthday in South Africa. I made my own birthday postcards that I handed to my friends, with myself in a football jersey and an old, old World Cup ball.

LS: Favorite player?

LN: Michael Olise.

LS: World Cup predictions?

LN: France is going to win.

LEFT: ANTON shorts GESTUZ, boxershorts MODEL'S OWN, chains OFF-WHITE, HUGO KREIT, DSQUARED2, STYLIST'S OWN, rings OFF-WHITE, belt POLO RALPH LAUREN, belt chain 032C LUTHANDO pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS, scarf ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), chain MODEL'S OWN.

RIGHT: MIMI jacket ZADIG & VOLTAIRE, track jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS (DFB),

pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS (DFB), shoes POLO RALPH LAUREN LUTHANDO jacket HAN KJOEBENHAVN, windbreaker ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), T-shirt ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), shorts CARHARTT WIP, shoes GMBH.

Mimi

jacket ZADIG & VOLTAIRE, track jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS (DFB).

Luna Sferdianu: What’s your relationship to soccer?

Mimi Dey: I dreamt of becoming a professional football player as a kid. I was a striker, but because I was a smoker, they demoted me to the back each year, until I became a goalkeeper and then finally left the school altogether.

LS: Fondest football-adjacent memory?

MD: I was really aggressive as a kid, especially in between ages 6-12. At around 8, I even broke a boy’s leg. It is probably that.

LS: On an axis spanning player to watcher, where would you position yourself?

MD: Nowadays, nowhere. I’m off the grid.

jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS, shorts STAND STUDIO, boots PROENZA SCHOULER.

LS: What would you wear to a football match?

MD: Little T-shirt, scary boots for the fight afterwards.

LS: What would you wear, hypothetically, to practice now?

MD: Tiny yoga shorts bordering on a thong, the jersey of Millwall FC or some shit hometown team. In Vietnam all the hot and cutesy girls were playing soccer, so back in the day we would always roll up our shorts until our butt cracks were almost out.

LS: Favorite team?

MD: My mom’s hometown team in Vietnam, Hải Phòng FC. They are the mafia football team, so they always get in fights with the police after any match.

LS: Favorite player?

MD: Victoria Beckham? [Sighs]

LS: World Cup predictions?

MD: Hope England wins.

LS: Any football advice?

MD: Stop paying the players so much, God.

LEFT: MIMI jacket CARHARTT WIP, shorts ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB),

heels GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI. ANTON pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS, boots TIMBERLAND.

RIGHT: NICKLAS jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS, polo MISSONI, shorts CARHARTT WIP, belt CARHARTT WIP, chain OFF-WHITE. MIMI jacket CARHARTT WIP, shirt HELMUT LANG, shorts ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), earrings HUGO KREIT. LUTHANDO jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS, shirt DSQUARED2, pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS.

Anton

track jacket ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), shorts GESTUZ, chain OFF-WHITE.

Luna Sferdianu: What’s soccer to you?

Anton Blomberg: Community. I have friends who are really into the rowdy stuff. The comradeship seems so sweet to them.

LS: On an axis spanning soccer player to watcher, where would you position yourself?

AB: I haven’t played in a while, so I’m probably closer to an enthusiast.

LS: What would you wear to a soccer game?

AB: A random jersey that has nothing to do with the game. I like the Ghana one. Maybe some Stone Island, even though it’s controversial.

LS: Favorite team?

AB: Hammarby.

LS: Favorite player?

AB: Zlatan Ibrahimović.

LS: World Cup predictions?

AB: Hmm… who is playing this year?

LS: Soccer advice?

AB: Never bet on it.

ANTON leather bomber jacket DSQUARED2, sweat jacket WEEKDAY, shirt HELMUT LANG, pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS, boots TIMBERLAND, chain OFF-WHITE, rings STYLIST'S OWN. NICKLAS jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS, shorts CARHARTT WIP, chain OFF-WHITE. LUTHANDO jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS, shirt DSQUARED2, pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS, boots TIMBERLAND.

Niklas

jacket ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), shorts GESTUZ, necklace HUGO KREIT,

rings OFF-WHITE, hat RUSLAN BAGINSKY.

Luna Sferdianu: What’s your relationship to soccer?

Niklas Smolenia: Never really cared for it up until two years ago. My dad is really into it, so I recently got the gist of it.

LS: What was the turning point?

NS: Being in the stadium.

LS: On an axis spanning soccer player to watcher, where would you position yourself?

NS: Watcher for sure.

LS: What would you wear to a soccer match?

NS: Pants like these. [Points to his black shorts.] Maybe a jersey. Nothing branded with the team playing, though.

LS: If you were to be a player, what would you wear?

NS: Probably the right shoes for the field.

LS: Any emotional connection to soccer?

NS: The first match I went to with my dad. It brought about this closeness, this collective energy of the stadium. (Maybe it’s the alcohol, too.)

LS: Favorite team?

NS: FC St. Pauli. The only left-leaning team in Germany.

LS: Favorite player?

NS: Jackson Irvine.

LS: World Cup predictions?

NS: Hope Germany wins.

LS: Any soccer-adjacent advice?

NS: Don’t support right-wing teams.

MIMI jacket CARHARTT WIP, shirt HELMUT LANG, shorts ADIDAS PERFORMANCE (DFB), heels GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI, earrings HUGO KREIT. LUTHANDO jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS, shirt DSQUARED2, pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS, boots TIMBERLAND. NIKLAS jacket ADIDAS ORIGINALS, polo MISSONI, shorts CARHARTT WIP, belt CARHARTT WIP, shoes GMBH, socks ADIDAS PERFORMANCE, chain OFF-WHITE. ANTON leather bomber DSQUARED2, sweat jacket WEEKDAY, shirt HELMUT LANG, pants ADIDAS ORIGINALS, boots TIMBERLAND, chain OFF-WHITE, rings STYLIST'S OWN.

Advertorial

All clothing is available on Zalando.

Special thanks to Muggelbude and Behala Westhafen.