If you look carefully, you’ll see a new menswear trend bubbling to the surface: from streetwear brands to the most high-end luxury retailers, there’s a wave of soccer jerseys and facsimiles destined to flood wardrobes just in time for summer.

Why the sudden interest in footballing fashion, you ask? Well, this summer Germany will be hosting Euro 2024, the quadrennial competition of Europe’s top footballing nations. While it’s not quite the World Cup, it’s usually an occasion for people to get a little bit more into the game, which tends to have a trickle down effect.

*David Beckham (left), Kylian Mbappé (right). Photos courtesy of Dior.*

While there have been some great soccer jerseys over the years and countless well-executed riffs on the style by brands as varied as Supreme and Louis Vuitton, it’s a piece that’s somewhat limited in terms of when and where you can wear it: the weather and the venue need to cooperate. Rather than look to the pitch for style inspiration this summer, why not turn to the terraces and touchlines for a more thoughtful and sartorially-developed take on soccer-core?

Today, there are more and more soccer players seen as fashionable figures whose style can be emulated, but, for a long time, it was the fans that were the ones setting the trends. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, it was travelling English football fans — particularly those from Liverpool — who helped bring continental brands like C.P. Company, Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini and Stone Island into the U.K. Meanwhile, young Italian fans in Milan cultivated what came to be known as the paninaro look, a mix of Americana and Italian sports and loungewear. By the time the ‘90s rolled around, each fan base had co-opted brands and styles – off-field uniforms that served as a declaration of allegiances for those who understood the code. The Sergio Tacchinis and FILAs of the early casual movement gave way to more proper styles: Stone Island were supplemented with smart polos, while brands like Burberry and Aquascutum became a familiar sight in the stands, too.

*Taika Watiti for SHARP December. Photography: Christopher Sherman. Fashion Direction: Sahar Nooraei and Haley Dach. Grooming: Melissa DeZarate (A-Frame Agency). Photo Assistant: Shane D’Acosta*. *Full Look: Brunello Cucinelli*.

It’s within that context, with a rich stylistic history, that fans continue to fill stadia. If the North American mind tends to think of sports-going outfits more casually — a jersey thrown over a shirt after a day at the office – the reality in Europe can be much different, approached with a reverence that rivals that of church outfits. Coaches, from the bristly veterans to young upstarts, once fond of wearing tracksuits on the touchline, have taken note, opting for sumptuous turtlenecks, well-cut suits, elegant derbies and even, occasionally, a pair of double-monk strap shoes.

Brands now line up to dress national and club teams off the pitch, the most famous examples being Armani and the Italian national team or Thom Browne and FC Barcelona. On a Canadian level, Harry Rosen has dressed CF Montréal in made-to-measure suits from the retailer’s Harold program.

All of that to say: the jerseys are cool, but there’s so much more to tap into when it comes to soccer culture this spring and summer. With that in mind, here are five of our favourite pieces to inject your wardrobe with a sophisticated touch of footballing fever.