Tom Marchitelli worked as an accountant at a hedge fund for eight years, then quickly launched a side hustle that became his full-time job.
Marchitelli started a custom men's clothing business called Gentleman's Playbook 10 years ago. Since then, he has amassed approximately 500 customers, most of whom are professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and PGA tours.
when The Athletic When I spoke to Marchitelli, he was heading to the Dallas airport after a meeting with baseball players.
In his role as a personal designer, stylist and seamstress, Marchitelli curates entire wardrobes for clients including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. During the various preseasons of the various U.S. leagues, Marchitelli rarely stays in the same city for long periods of time. In addition to working on lookbooks of clothing for specific events, a large part of his work is focused on personalizing entire collections of tunnel fits for the athletes he works with.
“Tunnel fit” is a phrase used to describe what athletes and women wear when they arrive at a game (“fit” is short for “outfit”).
Athletes usually arrive in the tunnel under the arena wearing their best clothes. This is where the name comes from. Think of it like a pre-game runway, where North American sports athletes show off their personalities through what they're wearing.
While some of the most fashion-forward athletes go big, like Stefon Diggs of the Houston Texans and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, there are others who prefer to keep it simple.
Stefon Diggs arrives at an NFL game this January (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
Kyle Kuzma was in the former camp, and now he's in the latter camp. The Washington Wizards forward called his “retirement” from tunnel walks after taking the game to great heights with choices like an incredibly oversized pink Raf Simons jumper and a black Rick Owens down jacket. Recently announced.
“I don't want to be part of a community where I have to wear 'fits'. I’m really putting all of that behind me,” Kuzma told Vogue in October.
Kuzma checked out his high fashion tastes and switched to plain sweatsuits, but in Europe the soccer player has just checked out the world of tunnel fits.
“(In the United States) it's a sport within a sport,” Marchitelli said. “Social media plays a big role, as all major sports teams have media personnel responsible for taking photos as players enter.
“I think it’s only been about eight years, because when I first started, that (posting images of players arriving at games on social media) didn’t exist. It's starting to become visible.
Kyle Kuzma 'retired' from intentional tunnel attack, pictured in 2022 (left) and 2021 (Getty Images)
“You get an up close and personal look at what athletes look like when they're not in uniform (team kit) and how they choose to express themselves. And over time, the players took pride in how they participated in the job.
“Another big factor that drives it is competition between players. They're trying to outdo players on their own team, players on other teams across the sport, and even players across other sports. Masu.
“Once they show up to the arena, they are given a uniform that they are forced to wear, so they have no real options for self-expression other than the accessories of shoes, cleats (boots), and maybe a wristband,” or a headband. But they can express how they feel and how they want to be seen in the outfits they wear to compete. ”
Marchitelli can team up in each major men's sports league depending on the number of clients he has, but even though teams in MLS and NWSL have both dabbled in this subculture movement, professional soccer players There is no one.
In European soccer, tunnel seizures are almost non-existent. France international Jules Kounde has led the way for Barcelona in recent seasons with ensemble looks that combine vintage and high fashion. However, this season, Barça players are no longer allowed to take part in matches in street clothes. As a result, Kunde, who is now a well-known face not only in football but also in the fashion world, began taking pictures of himself getting fit after matches and sharing them with his followers on social media.
Most teams have a strict policy of only wearing club jerseys on match days, and this is one of the main reasons why the pre-match tunnel fit has not yet caught on in the football world.
So where is the individuality? The answer is not yet in the basement of the stadium, but in the parking lot of the sports practice facility. We have gradually evolved into an era where players in the men's and women's games can show off their style in the form of arrival fits for club and national team training.
In particular, participating in international assignments has become a moment for athletes to display their fashion talent.
Last month, Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate arrived at a training ground in France with a neon green hood pulled over his face, and his national team-mate Marcus Thuram, often decked out in Balenciaga and Chrome Hearts, is among those leading the way. is.
Konate will arrive for France international duty in October (Frank Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
Argentina, Belgium and Portugal are also three standout players who continue to feature. Meanwhile, England, whose players include Louis Vuitton brand ambassador Jude Bellingham, are still striding around in team-issued Nike tracksuits, proving the trend hasn't completely caught on everywhere. There is.
“That[arrival of fit]wave really started probably in 2022,” says Jordan Clarke, founder of Footballer Fit, a platform celebrating footballer fashion.
Clarke noticed that Premier League side Crystal Palace had started posting pictures on Instagram of their players arriving at their training ground in south London in street clothes. Since starting dialogue with the club, footballer Fitz and Palace have collaborated on Instagram posts to showcase what the players are wearing.
“Now we've done it with Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Anderlecht in Belgium, we've done it with Brentford a lot, we've done it with Crystal Palace Women, we've done it with Chelsea Women. There's just so many.” says. The hope is that the attack on arrival is a harbinger of tunnel seizures becoming more commonplace in football.
“I don't want to exclude anyone, but we've worked with a lot of clubs over the years and now Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester City may not be working with us, but they're doing it. It's amazing to see it now.
“Training takes a lot of pressure off. They (clubs) can put out pictures in the middle of the week and no matter what happens at the weekend, unless you're a really negative person, people don't know if the player is I don't think they will link the clothes they wore to practice as a reason for their loss.”
Siobhan Wilson is one of the players featured on the Footballer Fitz Instagram page in collaboration with her club Birmingham City Women, and will welcome a break from the traditional pre-match tracksuit. .
“It's actually frustrating, especially when I see what they're doing in the WNBA,” the 30-year-old Jamaican international says with a laugh. “I wish they'd done something like that here. They just want us all to look like clones of each other, and that's fine.”
Wilson worked part-time at the Palace as a postman. She currently has a full-time playing career with Championship Second Division leaders Birmingham, while also working as a fitness influencer to her 1.3 million followers on TikTok.
“It's nice for fans to see players express themselves through what they're wearing and their style,” she says. “I would like to see more of that because I can see a person's personality better.
“For me, when I have good shoes that fit well, I feel good. But I also understand the other side (the players who arrived wearing uniform jerseys) and the team. It's a game. We're there to play as a team, so it's understandable from that perspective, but it's about being yourself a little bit more by wearing your clothes and feeling comfortable in what you're wearing. It will be.”
Martin Odegaard and Arsenal arrive in team gear for this month's game against Chelsea (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC, via Getty Images)
Argen Hamilton is a designer and stylist from South London.
His break in the fashion industry came when he began styling a footballer friend he met in primary school aged four, Fulham winger Reiss Nelson (on loan from Arsenal). Hamilton's client list includes Trevor Chalobá (on loan from Crystal Palace and Chelsea), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Joe Willock (Newcastle), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) and Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City). is included.
“During the season, I always work with them whenever they want: when they have an event coming up, when there's an awards ceremony, when they go to a premiere,” explains Hamilton, 24. . “When it comes to fit on arrival, those looks are typically taken from a wardrobe that I create and update multiple times a year.
“I first tell them what they want to wear, what kind of vibe we're going for, whether it's going to be different, where we're going to travel, etc. Then we go out, make the costume and send the message. They will tell you which clothes they like.
“For example, I'm working with Trevor right now, and we've created a lot of costumes that he's picked out, but there's also a brand that we want to give away something for winter. ”
Amadou Onana (left) checks in to work in Belgium in 2023 (Nico Vereecken/Photo News via Getty Images)
Hamilton, who has been working full-time with Charova since 2021, has watched first-hand the development of the relationship between football and fashion.
“When I first started, players didn't dress up and go to games like they do now. It wasn't just the Premier League. We're talking about La Liga (Spain). “) and the Bundesliga (Germany's top division),” he says.
“Brands also weren't very open about their partnerships with footballers. Over time, they became more popular and supporters began to pay more attention to players off the training ground and off the pitch. It feels like there are more opportunities. Players are more open about their fit and want to show it off.
“We've seen the game change little by little, and it's only a matter of time before the sport reaches a stage like America's. But let's not confuse a step forward with progress. While it might be a step forward to see them do it (see what their social media looks like after their arrival), changing their team's mind doesn't mean real progress.
“The Premier League is very traditional. They will probably be the last league to change things.
“It would be nice if the progress was meaningful. Instead of[arrival attire]being seen as a distraction or a moment when players are not focused on team goals, So that it can be seen as an opportunity to express yourself.”
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(Top photo: Getty Images, Design: Kelsey Peterson)
