Being Tom Davies

If the concept of unconventional player is constantly evolving it is not only for Hector Bellerin's quotes or the recent appearances of Memphis Depay, but also thanks to Tom Davies: perhaps you have not yet had the chance to appreciate him on the field with the Everton shirt but the young English footballer has stood out for the outfits shown away from the football pitch. A few days ago, together with teammate Dominic Calvert-Lewin - a talent for scoring goals but even more for dressing extravagantly, inevitably ended up on our list of hypebeast footballers to follow in 2020 - Davies was among the protagonist of New York Fashion Week, participating in the Michael Kors show with a look as bizarre as interesting, certainly unique. In the meanwhile his fellow footballers (compatriots Marcus Rashford, James Maddison, Ben Chilwell and Tammy Abraham) were exploiting the Premier League winter break to visit the usual destinations like Dubai and Miami for a few days of vacation.

"Tom Davies is unique. For every 500 Premier League players in Dsquared2 caps and tracksuits there is a Tom Davies that leaves its mark."

This was how Everton's 1998 class on SoccerBible was defined in a last summer article. But it's a timeless reference, valid for practically any occasion. The latest American photos posted on Instagram inevitably sparked the most extreme and vibrant reactions from his own fans (who however had to let off steam elsewhere, given that Davies had blocked the comments for months) who targeted the 'bathrobe' (which in reality it is a £2200 textured wool Gucci coat) worn by the Englishman while he goes around Manhattan with the city sharing bike, but above all the choice to wear very brave purple high heels, combined with a dressing gown-style coat, foulard and a pair of glasses with orange lenses. Well, let's say that it is not for everyone to be able to dress a pair of Predators on Saturday afternoons and then a pair of shoes like that, but Tom Davies is that type of multi-faceted footballer capable of doing it, with style. But above all, while framing the style of Calvert-Lewin is perhaps simpler (on Twitter it reads 'Calvert-Lewin looks like he's an 80s TV detective going undercover in a nightclub') it's not for everyone to be able to understand the so that Davies uses to express himself through the clothes he wears, which often go beyond a declared sexuality and a predetermined taste. And often the first superficial reaction is to criticize him.

The growth of Tom Davies runs on two parallel tracks: there is the sports career just started with Everton FC, the club that launched him in the first team already in 2016 after all the route in the academy, and then there's the its stylistic change, impossible to not notice. It was certainly influenced by his hometown, Liverpool, historically one of the most stimulating places in England from a musical and artistic point of view, but also by his family, his grandfather, former Toffees player, his parents, his brother, and above all the people he is used to meeting, as he said in an old interview, always on SoccerBible:

"I don’t know really. I think we’re all influenced by our surroundings and the environment we’re in. For me, the people around you give you ideas and stuff but I think my style is probably reflective of my upbringing. Liverpool as a city is a place with a lot of good going on. I enjoy being in various parts of the city and seeing the way different people dress. I like Bold Street best; there’s good food, good stores, and it’s a nice place that fits well with me."

What makes him truly special is belonging to that restricted category of players, among which there is certainly Hector Bellerin, capable of cultivating deep passions and interests that have nothing to do with the sports sphere and for which they manage to be appreciated in a global way, also helping to rewrite the stereotype of the witless and ignorant footballer. Thomas never made a secret of being a great lover of photography and fashion, which is not one of the ways to show his personality, but also of music (listen to Rejjie Snow, Anderson Paak, Nick Mulvey, Kendrick Lamar, the Arctic Monkeys). And also on the field, as well as in life, he manages to be at the same time varied and refined, playing the role of jolly midfielder who knows how to vary between classy shots and defensive tackles, as well as when he alternates skater looks with high fashion items. Just as happened to other fashion victims of different thickness who do not like to be homologated, just like the Catalan full-back of Arsenal, Davies was initially influenced by streetwear but gradually managed to leave Supreme and Gosha Rubchinskyi to appreciate Loewe and Michael Kors, or to dress tailored suits paired with vintage leather moccasins.

His hair is also affected by his experiments: curly, long and loose up to the shoulders, gathered with a pigtail, braided in mini dreadlocks. Among the habits of Thomas, who in the meantime has become Everton's youngest captain ever, there is that of growing a beard and playing with rolled socks, not to copy someone in particular but because he likes it, and he wants to continue doing it because it's a natural thing, a bit like wearing a pair of purple boots:

"It's just the way I like to play, my calves tighten enough if they're compressed, so I've always rolled up my socks. It just seems more natural. The referees don't care as long as the shin guards are in place. I've been doing it since I was a child, so I don't see any reason to change now."