Why we need Jamie Tartt and his outfits

If fashion on TV now seems to belong only to the Roy family and their quiet luxury, there is still someone who can stun viewers with his rowdy but no less important outfits. Jamie Tartt, the fictional footballer played by Phil Dunster in Ted Lasso, is perhaps the best example of all that went wrong with the relationship between football and the world of fashion, long before athletes around the world started attending fashion weeks and relying on personal stylists. A bit David Beckham and a bit Jack Grealish, Tartt has an inordinate passion for logos and for this idea of fashion that is instantly recognisable and where the value of each garment is measured by the size of the branding. A perfect example of this is Dsquared2's infamous Icon hat, an essential accessory in Tartt's outfit, often paired with Giorgio Armani's zebra-striped jackets or Neil Barrett's Varsity Jacket. When it comes to luxury brands like Gucci, the choice is not a suit by Alessandro Michele, but a two-piece suit with prominent branding on the sleeves, often accompanied by a Nike bag big enough to contain his ego - and those who follow the series know what we are talking about.

Moving away from the logos, it's the prints that take centre stage. Jamie wears a tie-dye jumper of dubious taste, or a jacket with a tropical Nike floral pattern that perfectly matches the style of the Richmond tip. Other notable garments include the Mastermind x BAPE jacket we saw a few episodes ago, and the Dsquared2 jacket with the ubiquitous ICON lettering. Costume designer Jacky Levy's choice not only takes us back to a type of footballer now in danger of extinction, but also tells the story of the character of Jamie Tartt herself, a perpetual prima donna whose only goal both in life and on the pitch is to get noticed. "That's just not me. No hoodies, no zips, no graffiti," says the character in one of the first episodes of the series, when asked to wear an outfit that is obviously deemed anonymous by Tartt's boisterous style. If Kendall Roy fascinated us with her Loro Piana hats and her Margiela shirts, all of which are strictly logo-free, Jamie Tartt's aesthetic brings us back to the real world, far away from the multi-billionaires of the HBO series and decidedly closer to the world that surrounds us every day.

But if the Richmond forward now seems to be on the road to redemption in this final season, called to an unexpected maturity by his former enemy Roy Kent, it's hard to imagine his wardrobe evolving too. Not that we mind, quite the opposite. We want to continue to enjoy those exquisite outfits that remind us of photos of a very young Francesco Totti with long hair and a headband, Antonio Cassano's jacket in Madrid or one of Neymar's public appearances. If football and fashion are now communicating on a daily basis and clubs are desperately trying to follow catwalk trends, Jamie Tartt's aesthetic, despite being the child of a fictional product, is a bit like our nostalgic time machine to conjure up that football aesthetic that has disappeared for a few too many stylists.