The Tamesis
FIFA World Cup is not all Fun and Games: Between the catchy songs and actual displays of athletic prowess it’s also a very serious fashion.
No, I’m not referring to the jerseys – although Nike’s designs for this year’s kits are truly outstanding – but to the footballers’ wives and girlfriends (or, as we’ve come to know them, WAGs), who turn up pitchside like clockwork every four years to cheer their mates on… and look great doing it.
The full WAG-ification of the World Cup was arguably initiated in Germany two decades ago, when Victoria Beckham led a group of British WAGs that included Cheryl Cole, Coleen Rooney, Alex Curran, Carly Zucker and Nancy Dell’Olio Dell’Olio), for a super gorgeous romp in the spa town of Baden-Baden near the Black Forest. Their visit included a lavish stay at the Brenner Park Hotel, a wild night out at Italian hotspot Garibaldi and lots of expensive champagne.
But they weren’t the first wives and girlfriends to express their support courtside, and they won’t be the last. Below, we take a look at the evolution of WAG style over the past 60 years of World Cups.
