Gospel Estudios
A perfect Circle
Hector Bellerín has already done everything. And he has done it once, and better than anyone else. From the front row of Fashion Week to the catwalks of Louis Vuitton, from collaborating with fashion brands to shooting fashion campaigns. And he was wearing old football shirts years before the Bloke Core was codified, or talking about ethical and social issues before that was cool. Of course, he played in the most competitive leagues in Europe and wore jerseys of famous clubs, from Arsenal to Barcelona, until he found a perfect habitat in Seville where he could cultivate all his interests off the pitch. And when he announced the launch of his clothing brand Gospel Estudios at the beginning of June, it was more of a necessity than an opportunity to snap him up. We finally caught up with him, along with the rest of the Gospel Estudios team, in the Andalusian city to introduce the new chapter of More Than.
Gospel Estudios is more than a fashion brand, it's a collective where each piece has been added to over time and which Bellerín himself calls a spider's web of encounters, friendships and brushes. «I didn't want to make a clothing brand with just my name. And I've never advertised that the brand is just mine, just mine. I always talk about our collective, because for me, everything I know about clothing is in it, but it's the sum of all the knowledge of the people in it». Like all pioneers, Bellerín does not see himself as one. «Horacio and I started the project when we were in quarantine, and at the time I had already done a few projects with fashion brands. My last collaboration with H&M went very well and gave me the confidence to explore what I could do».
The passion for this world is in the family - «my mum has always worked in fashion and growing up I was always passionate about the art of making clothes» - and somehow Bellerin wanted to recreate that feeling in Gospel Estudios. «I met Horacio years ago at the Primavera Sound Festival and we became friends. Horacio knew Quim, who in turn knew Clara, who also joined the team». Isra and Quim are the designers with whom they created the entire collection released in June, but the family is much larger. Not least because, in Bellerín's opinion, Gospel Estudios can't just be a clothing brand. «I've always loved clothes and the self-expression they give you. For me, it has always been an art and a means of reaching other people».
Paradoxically, the moment Bellerín founded his brand coincided with the moment he felt furthest away from fashion - or at least from its contours. «Fashion is losing its essence, especially with the so-called sustainable brands. They all seem to me to be very boring and just trying to do the next big thing, and then another and another». Gospel Estudios, on the other hand, has always made its inspiration and origins very clear: «We feel influenced by so many experiences during the creation process, we started with a study of what interests us not only in terms of fashion, but also in terms of food, music and different types of art. And we feel very connected to our roots.»
To better understand Bellerin's words, all you have to do is try shopping on the Gospel Estudios website. «Our website is not just a shop, it's an almanack of Spanish history. And when you try to buy something, you get a message asking you if you really need the item.» Sales don't seem to be a priority for Bellerin or his colleagues at Gospel Estudios. «Our accountants think we're crazy, but that's exactly what we are. We can't talk about making our relationship with fashion more sustainable and then throw clothes at your feet.» It's much more important to create a horizontal, credible brand that is rooted in the city and its culture, as Bellerin will explain to me later. «We want people to know that when they buy Gospel Estudios, they're making a contract with us saying, 'I'm going to take care of this product and give it the purpose it's meant for'.»
It feels like a geological epoch since Bellerín first attended London Fashion Week. Back then, football and fashion were two distant galaxies that couldn't be connected, as the Betis Sevilla defender himself recalls: «When I started going to fashion shows or turning up at London Fashion Week, there was nobody doing it. Back then, I never thought that football would ever play a role in fashion. If you had told me how intertwined they have become, I'd never have believed it». Instead, Bellerín became a key figure in this rapprochement, breaking some taboos that held both worlds captive and unleashing an energy that still defines the aesthetics of fashion and of the Beautiful Game.
«We want people to be aware when they buy Gospel Estudios, it's as if they are signing a contract with us in terms of 'I will take care of this product and I want to give it its intended purpose».
«We want people to be aware when they buy Gospel Estudios, it's as if they are signing a contract with us in terms of 'I will take care of this product and I want to give it its intended purpose».
«I'd go to these fashion shows and people would say: ‘What do you mean you're a footballer? What's a footballer doing here? You don't dress that badly for a footballer' There were always comments like that, and if someone recommended me to a fashion brand for a collaboration, they'd immediately say: 'Oh no, he's a footballer'.» Back then, the word football was a warning, a red flag. Now it's the fashion brands that are trying in every possible way to be associated with sportspeople and footballers, and the balance of power has reversed to a certain extent. «I've to admit that the paradigm has completely changed in the last six years. I remember when Arsenal launched the 424 collection, the first streetwear brand to collaborate with a football team. And now these kinds of collaborations are everywhere». It was these little things that slowly opened up the space and pushed the walls that bounded it a little further. «But if I'm honest, I didn't think about it. I went to the fashion shows because I was looking forward to meeting people, seeing friends who worked there, it was part of something I enjoyed, so it felt natural to me. Everything that happened afterwards was very organic».
Now that football jerseys have become the object of desire for everyone, fashionistas and fans alike, Bellerín, as a collector and frequent wearer, reflects on how we came to see Travis Scott in an Antonio Chimenti jersey. «The fashion world would never admit it, but it has been influenced by football aesthetics before. It's really interesting to see how cultural football is because everyone, even those who don't play or follow a club, know what it means to wear a football shirt». At a time when everyone is constantly searching for a touch of identity in their lives, football shirts are a magical tool of belonging and values. Just by wearing an old kit from a semi-famous team, you can be part of a wider community that is as much about style as it's about sport. «Football kits, especially those from the 1990s, have much more substance than today's football kits. Today, every aesthetic lasts six months and then it's on to the next one. Everything is so fast-moving that nostalgia makes people feel more real, because at least they feel inspired by the 90s, like they're more human or connected to a common ideal.»
This relationship between football, people and place is very close to Bellerín's heart. This is evident when we photograph him and the Gospel Estudios team in some of his favourite places in Seville, from the Mercado de Triana to the Bar Garlochí, which truly represent the essence of the city. «I think the when clubs used to design a football shirt, they didn't do it to publicise it. They made these jerseys because they thought it represented them», Bellerín continues about the nature of the jerseys. «In my idea of the world, if you create something with a purpose just to sell it, I think you lose a lot of its meaning». No wonder, then, that Bellerin has never been drawn to tunnel fits: «They're a symbol of the Americanisation of football. I think it's very cool and it's a useful space to express yourself, but there are other ways without having to show how much money you have.» They're part of a system he doesn't own, although he has played a role in creating it to some extent by accepting the brighter sides as those he cares less about. «I think it's good that there are differences, you know what I mean? For example, football has its way of doing things, basketball has its way. In Europe we have one way and the Americans have another way. I think that's part of the different cultures. The way we experience sport here is completely different from the way they experience it».
At Barcelona, it's now Jules Koundé who carries the banner of the world's most stylish left-backs, so much so that even Bellerín laughs when I point out to him that perhaps there are some roles where aesthetics come into play more. «Maybe it really is like this: when you play as a full-back, you see the whole field in front of you, you see what every other player on the field is doing, it's almost a reflective role». And it obviously allows you to express your fashionable side without being influenced from the outside, just following your instincts and feelings. «I think it's good that guys like Jules are really interested in fashion and exploring the opportunities that are available to them now. The campaign with Jacquemus is also a product of someone who is passionate about fashion and has his own aesthetic». For Bellerín, it's never about the what, but always about the how. It's a question of the method, the approach to the passion that drives him. He is not afraid to be radical and show his view of things, which remains constant while the world around him changes.
«Everything I've done in my life, I've taken seriously. I think that's one of the things that's ingrained in my personality, and when I find something interesting, I want to know everything about it. When I started to be interested in fashion, I read books and enrolled in different courses. I wanted to learn. I wanted to know. For example, I learnt to draw in 3D for no reason, just because there was a new tool and I knew I could create things with it. And I learnt, you know, I took courses in photography, in anything that I liked. And an active mind is something important to me in my life. And that gave me the opportunity to achieve the results that I have now».
Throughout the story full look GOSPEL ESTUDIOS. Football shoes SOKITO.
Photographer: Adriana Roslin
Stylist: Adrián Lorca
Stylist Assistant: Aaron Días Rossi
Make Up: Sarah Caceres
Make Up Assistant: Jesus Martínez Beltrán
Make Up Assistant: Israel Pavón Espejo
Interview: Lorenzo Bottini
