On the coat-tails of his waistcoat becoming the country’s most-talked-about fashion item after the last World Cup, Gareth Southgate’s touchline outfit has prompted chatter once again. This time, though, it has been panned as a fashion disaster.
For his team’s dismal draw with Scotland on Friday, the England manager debuted a new look – the Shacket, a cross between a shirt and jacket.
For those not quite up with the latest recommendations of magazines such as GQ and Esquire, fashion experts claim it ‘will promise to be your seasonal saviour’.
For his team’s dismal draw with Scotland on Friday, the England manager debuted a new look – the Shacket, a cross between a shirt and jacket
For Southgate, 49, it certainly wasn’t that. Standing in the Wembley rain and unable to motivate his team, he looked to the sky, dishevelled with the button undone.
His fashion faux pas was mocked, like his on-pitch tactics. One Twitter user suggested he was trying to imitate rock band Oasis, saying: ‘Liam Gallagher could have made that work, definitely maybe, but not you.’
Southgate’s Shacket is sold by London-based fashion label Percival Menswear at £199. It is one of many available on the high street, with Marks & Spencer and Next both selling their own designs.
Fashion blog Rydale brims with enthusiasm, saying: ‘More commonly known as a “summer jacket” or “overshirt”, which is the ideal layering piece to keep the chill off for when the sun is setting, but still ensuring your styling is on point and you look like that summer babe you are.
A shacket also enables you to create more of a signature edgy style than a coat, but still keeps you just as warm.’
Underneath, Southgate wore Percival’s Surrey Knit Cuban White Rib, on sale for £109. But he might want to reconsider the top if we later face Portugal – because it was made in that country.
The England manager’s waistcoat became the country’s most-talked-about fashion item after the last World Cup
Both items are part of the capsule collection Percival has provided to the England boss for the Euros.
In May, Southgate asked a member of his staff to contact the brand to request it dress him for the tournament. Two men from the firm visited him at his Yorkshire home and supplied eight pieces of clothing, including the Pablo Cuban Knit top, also £109, that Southgate wore for the opening game against Croatia.
There is also a navy two-piece suit – without a waistcoat – a knitted cardigan and two more shackets, one described as ‘midnight with olive’.
Writing on its Instagram page, the company said: ‘Five weeks ago, we got a phone call… “Gareth Southgate really likes your brand, would you like to dress him throughout the Euros?”
‘Two weeks later, we had lunch at his house and produced for him a wardrobe fit enough to take King Arthur and his 12 knights in to battle.
‘We’ve developed some retro-inspired smart polos, an unlined summer suit and paired it with our classic Sherlock to cover all scenarios.’
At least Southgate didn’t opt for the ‘Wally with a Brolly’ look former manager Steve McClaren chose during England’s defeat by Croatia in 2007
At least Southgate didn’t opt for the ‘Wally with a Brolly’ look former manager Steve McClaren chose during England’s defeat by Croatia in 2007. The 60-year-old became a laughing stock, with his No 2, Terry Venables, telling him: ‘That might not look great, boss.’
Meanwhile, ITV pundit and former Scotland captain Graeme Souness’s beaming white teeth didn’t go unnoticed by viewers watching the game on ITV.
‘I’m wearing brand new white socks straight out the box. And Graeme Souness’s teeth are whiter,’ wrote one social media user.
Another compared him with X Factor judge Simon Cowell, saying: ‘I presume, at some stage, Simon Cowell is going to come on and demand his teeth back from Graeme Souness.’
The FA last night refused to comment on whether Southgate had paid for the clothes.