Men finally have good taste in bags!
For far too long, men have been (justifiably) on the receiving end of much criticism regarding their fashion choices: monotonous suits, monotonous red carpet appearances and overall, uninspired style. This summer, however, the world’s top male athletes have unexpectedly brought their fashion A-game to sporting events.
The effort put into coordinating or spotlighting handbags, backpacks and travel bags, in particular, has been a highlight of the season. From basketball and football to formula racing and tennis, athletes from all leagues have proven that bags are now reshaping the modern man’s wardrobe.
Bags Were the Real World Cup Winners
This summer, an impressive number of male sporting events have overlapped. The United States hosted both the NBA Finals and a portion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the tennis circuit and Formula 1 Grand Prixes kicked off around the world. For high-profile athletes and esteemed event attendees, these events became a prime opportunity to combine personal style affinities with practical use.
With travel a built-in requirement for sports nowadays, it should come as no surprise that brands, stylists and athletes have stepped up their bag game—seemingly more than ever before. On the World Cup front, the planet’s most popular footballers were pictured boarding team jets all over North America with luxury’s most envy-inspiring bags.
This styling dynamic, where athletes’ looks are anchored by bags (rather than classic sportswear staples like sneakers), rewrites the menswear playbook, placing athletes (football plates, in particular) as the world’s new tastemakers. According to Google Trends, over the last 90 days, interest in terms such as “men’s bag” and “football players bag” has increased by >5,000% compared to the same period in 2025.
The French national football team led the way with an array of luxury pieces that spanned France’s most prominent brands, from Louis Vuitton and Dior to Chanel and Hermès.
The squad’s captain and the tournament’s top scorer, Kylian Mbappé, took the A5 Triangle Pouch, the Normandie Bag and the Dioriviera Book Tote with him as he traveled back and forth between France’s home base in Boston and cities across the US and Canada.
Coéquipiers Ousmane Dembelé, Jules Koundé and Marcus Thuram—all of whom have made a name for themselves as fashionistas and luxury brand ambassadors—made their own thing, sporting items like the Chanel x Pharrell Williams XXL Flap Bag or the Hermès Maxi Kelly 42 Grizzly.
The French team’s commitment to showcasing their nation’s luxury leather goods received so much attention worldwide that images of their arrival at the World Cup even trended on Chinese social media, where internet users likened the squad’s display of bags to China’s “Guochao,” a movement that promotes national pride and “appreciation for domestic products.”
The bag parade at the World Cup didn’t stop there
Japanese right winger Takefusa Kubo stood out with his choice of the Bottega Veneta Cross Body, while Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal made a splash with the Chanel XXL Urban Essential Shopping Tote. Jude Bellingham, England’s leading goalscorer at the tournament and an ambassador for Louis Vuitton since 2024, stepped out in a selection of branded bags, backpacks and luggage, including the Louis Vuitton Keepall.
Erling Haaland, a top figure in the Norwegian national team, has a collection impressive enough to deserve its own exhibit. The closest we can get to that, however, is giving him his own highlight.
Beyond the footwork, endearing personality and bromance with Jude Bellingham that positioned him as one of the most notable names at the tournament, Haaland sparked online interest with a finely curated selection of Hermès bags. He was photographed travelling with coveted items such as the Hermès HAC Birkin Endless Road 50, a black multipocket HAC Birkin 50 and the HAC Birkin Evercalf Toile Cargo 40. Haaland one-upped himself with some Hermès-ception by housing his black Birkin 25 inside the Haut à Courroies Rock.
According to Launchmetrics, Haaland’s penchant for rare Hermès bags was among the buzziest style conversations at the World Cup. In fact, just one of the Norwegian baller’s TikTok posts generated $8.8 million in Media Impact Value (MIV) for the brand.
Even upon Norway’s disqualification from the tournament, the baller kept making headlines and winning the bag game. His bag of choice for his return to Norway? A fresh-off-the-runway Dolce Gabbana tote only offset by the taxidermy raccoon Haaland took back home as a souvenir.
At Formula 1 and the NBA Finals
But male athletes’ fondness for bags wasn’t exclusive to the World Cup. Earlier in the season, both Formula 1 and the NBA Finals gave athletes an unapologetic backdrop to experiment with bags and reshape perceptions of this luxury item, whose market size is currently valued at $12.2 billion, according to Global Market Insights Inc.
Formula 1, notoriously elite, is an ideal playground for fashion fanatics to show up and show out.
Lewis Hamilton, on one hand, has kept things understated over the past few months with a few buzzy sightings, including a custom 44 Goyard Boeing Duffel Bag and the Dior Normandie Bag. When he’s not on the course, however, Hamilton is a Rimowa ambassador, and his airport gear reflects as much; the driver can be trusted to jet set around the globe with only the highest quality carriers.
Franco Colapinto, on the other hand, was pictured in June with an unexpected accessory. In a rare deviation from his usual practical bags, the Argentine racer wore his home country’s colors while carrying a leather mate bag on the go. It’s a combination that made perfect sense, given Colapinto’s near-permanent attachment to mate at any given point. (Don’t believe us? Check his Instagram.)
In the basketball world, fashion has become a routine part of every game in the form of tunnel walks.
This aptly-named entrance into the arena gives players a platform to express their personal style or explore partnerships with brands or stylists. While the tunnel walk is a staple all season, the NBA Finals brought a new level of attention to the role of fashion in the sport.
Louis Vuitton was a go-to for many players in this year’s NBA Finals, including Knicks players Karl Anthony-Towns, Miles “Deuce” McBride, Jordan Clarkson and Mikal Bridges and Spurs’ Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson and Victor Wembanyama.
Knicks sixth-man and part-time model Jordan Clarkson has made the tunnel walk his own stage for years. To close this year’s season, Clarkson brought out several Louis Vuitton bags, including the Speedy P9 Bandoulière bag in multiple colorways. The Filipino American NBA champion is also seemingly hip to this year’s inclination towards whimsy, bringing personality to his luxury collection with a range of trinkets and charms.
France native and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama is also, perhaps unsurprisingly, a Louis Vuitton regular. As a House Ambassador for two years, Wembanyama has become an increasingly key part of Louis Vuitton’s ever-expanding global strategy. At Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Wembanyama was also seen with a bold red Speedy P9 Bandoulière bag—though he often cycles through a variety of the brand’s designs. Shortly thereafter, the “Alien” was welcomed at the brand’s Spring-Summer 2027 menswear runway show in Paris, where he donned a relaxed suit punctuated with a bright-colored Christopher MM backpack.
In The Tennis Circuit
The relationship between tennis and fashion became glaringly clear after the 2024 release of Luca Guadagnino’s film Challengers. Tennis-inspired athleisure and major partnerships (à la Roger Federer and Uniqlo) have been in the news for years. Now, however, it seems that tennis players and audience members alike are treating their bags as part of the main event.
First, we have to give Jannik Sinner his flowers for doing brand ambassadorship right. In 2023, he was one of the first players to leave behind classic sportswear brands and all-white to bring a luxury item to Center Court at Wimbledon—earning over $2 million in Media Impact Value (MIV) per Launchmetrics. Since then, the Italian tennis player has made it clear that Gucci is near and dear to his heart. As an ambassador for the brand, Sinner has starred in Gucci campaigns and diligently displayed his duffel at matches around the world. At this year’s Italian Open, Sinner reprised his role to generate another $1.2 million in MIV for Gucci once again.
Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, keeps it sporty on the court while working with Louis Vuitton off duty. Though yes, Alcaraz does have a customised Louis Vuitton trunk that houses his tennis memorabilia. Italian player and Bottega Veneta ambassador Lorenzo Musetti is also among the ranks of young tennis players representing global fashion houses. Though we haven’t seen much of the brand on the court, Musetti has been spotted repping the Italian label in his downtime.
The Convergence of Sports and Fashion
Sports and fashion have never been mutually exclusive industries, but more than ever before, the two are converging. Athletes embody brand ethos and sporting events double as highly-publicized showrooms.
This summer, male athletes around the globe—and across the sports world, too—are showing that every detail matters. Whether it’s a custom duffel to carry your essentials in style or the perfect luxury travel companion, the right bag can comfortably walk the tightrope between practical and stylish.
