While nobody can predict the outcome of Sunday night’s Euro 2024 final, there is one thing that is almost certain. Gareth Southgate will oversee England’s battle against Spain wearing a cream quarter-zip knitted polo top from Marks & Spencer. The England men’s manager has worn it for each of the team’s six matches in this year’s tournament and, similar to his 2018 World Cup waistcoat and Euro 2020 polka dot tie, the neat knit has become something of a “lucky” national emblem.
The £45 cotton polo is part of a collection created in partnership with the England team. M&S said that since England’s win over the Netherlands, the top has sold out both in stores and online. On TikTok the hashtag “polo shirt” has seen a 61.5% surge since England took on Serbia in June.
Southgate once brushed off suggestions that he was a style icon, quipping “I’m not David Beckham” in a 2018 interview with BBC Sport. But his Euro 2024 managerial uniform, featuring the bicep-brushing knit and streamlined single pleated trousers, is a long way from his 2006 baggy tracksuit days as manager of Middlesbrough.
Ahead of this year’s tournament the 53-year-old outlined a new understanding of the power of fashion in an interview with GQ magazine. “Whenever you put something on, you’re making some sort of a statement, aren’t you? I am conscious of that now,” he said.
Before Wednesday’s semi-final he sent a wider sartorial message to both fans and critics when, during a pitch inspection in Dortmund, he was pictured in a pair of Nike trainers with ‘100’ embroidered on the back and the words “anything is possible” written around the heel. The missive referred to the title of his 2022 book, while the 100 was a nod to the quarter-final – his 100th game as England manager.
It’s all part of Southgate’s gameplan. Daniel-Yaw Miller, sports correspondent at the industry news site Business of Fashion, said: “Southgate’s style has relaxed as his authority has grown in his role as manager. It now perfectly represents his relationship with the squad – he’s not the kind of manager that players would be afraid to approach or voice their opinions in front of, but there is a clear line of authority that can’t be crossed.”
It’s not just the players that Southgate needs to impress. From rowdy fans and England’s new prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, in the stands, to royalty and schoolchildren watching it at home, Southgate has an entire nation to please. England’s attacking flair may not be consistent but Southgate shouting from the sidelines in his ivory knit is a reassuring constant.
After taking up the mantle at Middlesbrough, just months into his new managerial career, Southgate demarcated a style border between him and his former teammates when he ditched the trackie bums for a suit. He paired his shapeless suits with tight fitting shirts, chunky knotted club ties and shiny dress shoes. In bad weather he tossed a puffer jacket on top. The England manager has been keen to carve out a distinctive sideline look since he got the top job with England in 2016. In 2018, we witnessed waistcoat mania as the team’s World Cup campaign got under way. Warwick Castle flew a waistcoat in lieu of a flag, while British Airways gifted fans free versions as they headed to the semi final. Three years later Southgate declared he was ditching the snug button-down in favour of softly structured unlined blazers and straight leg trousers from the British menswear brand Percival.
Chris Gove, the founder of the brand, said he was invited to “pitch” some wardrobe ideas. It was the catalyst for Southgate’s current short polo knit era, presenting him with an off-white version that the manager wore for the World Cup quarter-final against France in Qatar.
Gove said that while Southgate was now contracted to M&S, his brand is still witnessing the Southgate effect. Demand for the suit Southgate wore has increased tenfold in the past week while the “lucky” tie has sold out.
