He Wore What?
Cosplaying as stylists because our immigrant parents didn’t allow us to make it a career
After fantastic and well-received showings at Haute Couture Week by Maison Margiela and Robert Wun and with London Fashion Week kicking off tomorrow, we’ve been thinking a lot about fashion.
While fashion and sports have converged in a culturally significant way over the past couple of years, hockey is slowly catching up. The OG Hockey Style Rankings are done by the homie Sara Civian, who does a fantastic job at them, so we’re leaving that up to her. Instead, Perrye selected four random players (hence the addition of Gaby’s nemesis, Nathan Mckinnon - one-sided feud, Perrye wants to add), and Gaby had to pick a designer she’d like to see them dress in for Perrye to agree or not.
Since styling is ultimately an intimate process, we applied our rigorous academic process to the best of our abilities and what we knew of these players’ personalities and preferences. We’d also like to note that these players may have already dressed in some of these designers, so we’re looking more at the brand’s essence.
Elias Pettersson - Yohji Yamamoto
Elias Pettersson is one of the few hockey players who I would (maybe) call cool. Aside from being, you know, a great player, he seems to be affable and a genuinely good guy without trying too hard (or is that just the General Swedish Demeanor). While his pre-game fashion is pretty straightforward, he has a more developed personal street style. It’s a little stoic, a little edgy, perhaps.
He might be one of the only players capable of pulling off Yohji Yamamoto. There isn’t much technical logic to this choice other than that he has the oomph, appeal, and height to pull off some more avant-garde looks. Yamamoto is also a master tailor and works with many layers and drapery, which we’ve not seen much in hockey, but it would be interesting.
Perrye’s Thoughts: I understand why Gaby made that pairing, but I just don’t see it. As mentioned earlier, style is personal, and there’s no wrong answer (quoique, haha). However, I think Zegna would be a better option for Pettersson since he’s been known for his casual chic style. My other option would be Jan-Jan Van Essche for similar reasons but also because he often styles his pieces with headwear like a beanie, which I know Elias Pettersson would appreciate.
Auston Matthews - Gucci
Matthews has openly talked about wishing that hockey would allow them to be a bit more fashionable. His style includes a pretty impressive sneaker collection that he seamlessly incorporates into his game-day looks with a penchant for branded accessorizing.
Therefore, I’d dress him in the newer Gucci collections under Sabato De Sarno.
Gucci’s previous creative director, Alessandro Michele, was known for his panache and eclectic taste, which elevated the brand to one of its most successful decades. De Sarno, however, has taken more of a mainlined approach, seemingly to appeal to a broader audience. The collection is still very Gucci in spirit, though, with plenty of incorporation of their iconic color palette (i.e. reds, greens, and browns), leather goods, and loafers. It’s a tad more subdued than previous iterations, which I think would make it work better for a game day in Toronto.
Perrye’s Thoughts: We didn’t have to argue much on this one because our visions were pretty similar. I agree with Gaby’s choice, even though I would personally put Matthews in Dior, but that’s just a personal preference. The last few collections under Kim Jones have been highlighting the fluidity and interconnectedness of gender in fashion. Although Dior’s signature palette consists of muted beiges and grays, mixing these colors with Matthews’ impressive shoe collection for a burst of color would be interesting to see as a fashion statement. I also think he could pull off some of Martine Rose’s pieces. She won Menswear Designer Of The Year at the 2023 British Fashion Awards. Her talent, mixed with her innovative and creative designs, is changing the landscape of menswear globally, and she deserves all of the flowers.
Nathan MacKinnon - Brioni
When I sent my initial picks to Perrye, she made sure to note that I was not allowed to roast NatMac, much to my despair. Even worse for me, I started looking and his style isn’t bad at all, smh. MacKinnon has never been on the ostentatious side, and from the looks I saw, he seems to be leaning towards nicer, thicker fabrics with some great wool sweaters and a fantastic Burberry camel coat mixed in. There are also some sneakers here and there, so I think he would appreciate something from Brioni. This Italian brand focuses on quality and construction while feeling fresher and less traditional than other brands.
Given his last name and that he is a big ol’ hockey man, I was also tempted to stick with British tailoring with something off Savile Row Company or a Scottish tailor like Stewart Christie & Co. I feel like he’d appreciate the history.
Perrye’s Thoughts: I don’t have much to add because Brioni is an excellent choice for MacKinnon. My choice would have been Dunhill, but that’s simply because I love British Fashion.
Jack Hughes - Giorgio Armani
You know what? Jack Hughes is somewhat of an enigma to me. Despite being Tiktok’s former hockey boy du jour (I think that dubious honor has moved onto Vince Dunn now), he seems a pretty serious guy who isn’t very comfortable in front of cameras. His style still looks pretty collegiate, and I also recall that he did an interview where he talked about his interest in reading. Factoring all that in, I am tempted to say that I’d like to see him in a look from Giorgio Armani. A preppier look with less rigid tailoring in softer, perhaps more muted colors would work well with him, moving away from suits that give a frat formal feel without making him look too aged either.
Perrye’s Thoughts: Gaby’s choice is fine, but I think I envisioned bigger for him. I hesitated between Nicolas Daley and Ferragamo as an answer, but ultimately, I decided to go with Ferragamo because I enjoyed their recent collections. I could see Jack Hugues wearing it if he expands his style for something bolder. Gaby also considered Ferragamo for her final choice, so it’s fair to say that “great minds think alike.”
Well, this was fun! We didn’t argue as much as we thought we would over our picks, so our friendship lives to see another day. Let us know if you agree with our choices or if you have different picks for these players. We love to read your comments every time.
With Love,
Gaby and Perrye