There’s arriving in style and there’s arriving in style. 

What better gig is there for a designer than to work with one of the planets biggest sports teams.

FC Barcelona travel to France this week to face Lyon in the Champions League knock-out stages. The players arrived fresh of the plane in their custom made suits, designed by American designer Thom Browne, who announced the brands partnership with the professional football club at the start of the season.

The outfit, consisting of the signature Thom Browne medium grey two-ply Fresco suit, a white oxford shirt, tie, 4-bar cashmere vest and black pebble grain leather brogues, was first worn by players, including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, on the teams visit to Wembley in October when the faced Tottenham Hotspur.

The partnership will last for 3-years, a hat-trick!, and will see all players and coaching staff fitted out in Thom Browne for all Champions League and La Liga away matches in the years to come.

When the deal was secured the designer said:

“I’m excited to be associated and work with the best athletes in the world – especially athletes that share similar values to Thom Browne. the uniforms represent the confidence in showing true individuality and enforce the meaning of representing a team as one strong unit. I have always felt that world class athletes are the best role models and truly inspiring. the image of the players in the uniforms show true confidence and individuality that will inspire the youth of today”. – Thom Browne

The partnership with FC Barcelona is certainly a high point within the brands history, however this isn’t Browne’s only success. In the years 2006, 2013 and 2018, Thom Browne won CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year Award, the GQ Designer of the Year in 2008, the FIT Couture Council Award in 2017, as well as the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in 2012. His designs have been recognized by museums around the world including the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Costume Museum at Bath and the ModeMuseum Antwerpen. Yeah I know, a lot of places with long names but impressive nonetheless.

The brand is now currently followed by 808k followers on Instagram, thanks to the endorsement by Lionel Messi (98.8 million followers), and has over 300 leading department stores across 40 countries, with 31 directly operated flagship stores in New York, London, Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and South Korea.

However, the clothes are a bit pricey. 300 smackers for a t-shirt! I dont think I’m going to be investing in any Thom Browne just yet.