The World Cup in Brazil kicked off
last week and fans are unlikely to have missed a bold new trend
as they watch the deft footwork of players fighting over the
ball - boots are as brightly coloured as they can get.
One of the few football uniform staples left - black boots
- have become a thing of the past in Brazil.
Now referees are the only ones left wearing black boots at
a soccer event that gets sponsors and the whole fashion world as
excited as football fans.
Players at the World Cup have been sporting an
unprecedented variety of shades with soccer stars in the Italian
team, notably maverick player Mario Balotelli, stepping into the
field in a new line by Puma in which the right shoe is pink and
the left one is blue.
The new ''Tricks'' line by the German company looks very
much like a homage to both genders in the macho world of soccer.
The feminine ''beetroot purple'' on the right boot is
reportedly inspired by the Cattleya labiata orchid of Brazil
while the masculine ''bluebird'' shade on the left side pays
homage to south American landscapes.
And Puma, which has invested a reported 35 million euros to
sponsor eight out of the 32 national teams at the World Cup,
including Italy, isn't the only top sportswear brand adding a
few touches of colour to the footwork.
Nike, the sponsor of 10 national teams for a reported
expenditure of 140 million, and Adidas, which is estimated to
have spent 100 million for its eight teams, are showcasing a
parade of colours for boots worthy of the wildest fashion mind -
from metallic purple, vivid berry and samba blue to solar slime.
Nike's new boots at the World Cup rival Puma's two-tone
pairs with bright pinks and yellows.
Adidas's newest models, worn, among others, by Argentina
star Lionel Messi, feature bright oranges and blues.
The brand released the World Cup ''Battle pack'' - four
different boots with yellow and orange stripes.
Messi's line is designed to include blue highlights paying
homage to his national team's colours.
Nike, which only stepped into the football market in 1994,
is represented today by six of the 10 most marketable players in
football.
The company is showcasing its Mercurial and Magista boots
that very much look like socks with boots attached, designed to
give more support to the ankle.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is widely considered today as the
most marketable football player worldwide, is sporting the
Mercurial Superfly.
Overall, soccer has never been immune to fashion trends.
Notable fads over the years have included the sexy short
shorts and highly daring unitards.
Boots had been unaffected until a few year ago.
One of the reasons for this was that until the last decade,
they were mostly made out of kangaroo leather which cannot be
dyed easily.
But nowadays boots are in synthetic materials.
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