SEASON zine meets: Seven Female Football Fashion Leaders Talk Shop With Levi's®
Words Lauren Cochrane
Photography Louis Bever
It’s one of those days that feels like spring is announcing itself, and a studio in London’s King’s Cross is a hotbed of talent in the football and fashion space. There’s Felicia Pennant, Editor-in-Chief of SEASON zine, stylist-to-the-players Alesha Jivanda, designer Ebele Ojechi, who has worked with Chelsea FC, SEASON zine’s social lead Lauren Colton, Naomi Accardi, the founder of systemarosa and – last but not least – SEASON zine’s designer Maria Maleh, who plays every week for the excellently named east London team, Hamster FC. I’m there too – as someone who writes about football and fashion, both for SEASON zine and elsewhere – to hear everyone out.
L to R: Alesha Jivanda, Lauren Colton, Maria Maleh, Felicia Pennant, Naomi Accardi, Lauren Cochrane and Ebele Ojechi
What’s the occasion? As well as enjoying the sun, there’s a shoot to show how all seven of us women wear and work with Levi's® in 2025. This is a brand that is literally part of the fabric of fashion – it was part of the first wave of jeans, dating back to the 1870s, for goodness sake. But, crucially, its denim remains wearable, modern and desirable whatever the decade, as the outfits we picked out testify. From Pennant’s Alessie Bustier Dress to my High Rise Baggy Plaid Shorts and classic Levi's® 578 Baggy Jeans for Ojechi, they work with whatever football shirt with which they’re paired (although, of course, my vintage Arsenal number is particularly striking).
Being there together was the perfect excuse to take on the issues and interests that preoccupy all of us operating at this exploding intersection. We spoke about everything from heroes to how we get dressed and – of course – where we are at and where we are going with football and fashion. Here’s what you need to know.
L to R: Maria Maleh, Felicia Pennant and Lauren Colton
L to R: Alesha Jivanda, Naomi Accardi and Ebele Ojechi
Formative football and fashion memories
There was one person who stood out here: David Beckham. Pennant talked about the moment he wore a sarong in 1998 as crucial. “It wasn’t discovering the picture, but the reaction, the vitriol, the really snarky headlines,” she reflects. "I remember being like, ‘Well, he looks great. I don't get it.’” It’s not just Beckham the player, it’s also Bend It Like Beckham, the 2002 film starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley as aspiring footballers. Colton, who played semi-professionally as a teenager, says it was partly the film – and the ending that sees the girls leaving to play in the States – that inspired her to do the same. “There's not really anything after them going to America,” she says. “I didn't have that bit planned, I hated it.” Luckily, after a breather, she has come back to the sport. For Maleh, meanwhile, the film provided a different kind of template. “That’s a big moment for me,” she says. “As a Brown girl, to see a woman of colour as the main feature in the movie, wearing sick outfits, that was definitely nice.”
Not everyone was so Beckham-obsessed. I remember being entranced by almost all of Arsenal’s Invincibles – from the suave Frenchmen Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, to the tireless Kolo Touré and, of course, The Boss himself, Arsène Wenger. Ojechi, meanwhile, loved Ronaldo. “When I left year six, you could customise your school uniform. I was obsessed with Cristiano Ronaldo. I spent the whole night before perfectly writing his number.” Accardi has the somewhat unique experience of having a professional footballer as a father. “As kids, we used to get a lot of sportswear from my dad's sponsors. It was mostly Jordan, because Nike had just come to Italy at the time,” she says.
As for inspirations more up to date, almost everyone swoons when Martine Rose and Grace Wales Bonner are mentioned, names that have changed the game when it comes to what football and fashion look like now. And there’s one player who – to my delight – has the true fashion chops above all others: former SEASON zine cover star and Arsenal right back, Héctor Bellerín. "He is at the forefront of this new wave of footballers,” says Jivanda.
The lure of Levi's®
Everyone wears Levi's®, it seems – and not just on this shoot. Accardi describes “one of my favourite outfits” as “a pair of nice Levi's® and a nice denim jacket, everybody knows me for my double denim”. Ojechi, meanwhile, has a collection, which has grown since she was a teenager. Crucially, as she has changed, so have the Levi's®. “My first pair of Levi's® I bought myself was probably a pair of shorts,” she says. “I still have them to this day. They have a rip in the back, but that’s ok. They grow with you.” I, too, have an extensive collection from the brand – including an ancient pair of cut-off shorts, some 517s that belonged to my stepmum and some 501 90s that I basically live in. I learnt from my Dad – he only ever wears Levi's® 501s.
Pennant – unlike my dad – is not typically a jeans person, but she still likes the brand. “My last pair of jeans, before I stopped wearing them for almost 20 years, were indigo Levi's®,” she says. “Now I'm back, I'm a Levi's® girlie again. I’ve got a new pair of wider jeans, leg length 35 inches, and a Levi's® midi skirt because I love a midi skirt.”
“I own a few pairs of Levi’s® and like the different styles. I just find them comfy. Jeans can go with everything – a blazer, jumper, and football shirt.”
Others appreciate Levi's® versatility. “I own a few pairs of Levi's® and like the different styles,” says Jivanda. “I just find them comfy. Jeans can go with everything – a blazer, jumper, football shirt…” Colton refers me to an icon of denim – Alexa Chung – to explain the appeal. “If you were there in the Tumblr days, she said it – you could get a pair of 501 jeans, and wear them for life. They make your legs look good, make your bum look good, and that's what you want in a jean.”
Crucially, she argues, Levi's® are part of that modern concept – the capsule wardrobe: “You don't need to constantly be replenishing your wardrobe with fashion. Just get classic staples. You can dress it up, dress it down. If you're going out, it’s jeans and a nice top, and those jeans are probably Levi's®.”
What football and fashion means now
With football and fashion increasingly coming together, the women on this shoot have been there from the start and remain at the forefront – whether working with SEASON zine, working on design and style (Ojechi and Jivanda) or creating community (Accardi). So they all have a lot to say about how these two disciplines combine and how they should move forward.
Authenticity is an essential component. “Football fashion has become such a buzz phrase,” says Pennant. “What’s great about everyone here is they’re football fans, so it's part of who they are, but [they are] also creative.” I would agree here. As someone whose football fandom has grown in tandem with my career in fashion, it’s been a journey. I used to keep the two things very separate, but I’ve enjoyed how they now come together. However, as a fan, I find it’s easy to sniff out the fashion projects trying to grab onto the coat tails of a trend, rather than the ones which hit for fanbases and fashionable people alike. See the Aries x Arsenal collab in 2024, or the Cactus Jack Barcelona shirt more recently.
“As someone whose football fandom has grown in tandem with my career in fashion, it’s been a journey. I used to keep the two things separate, but I’ve enjoyed how they now come together.”
Of course, not all fans have been in it for the long haul and those new to the football x fashion space need to be welcomed with open arms. Accardi says creativity is essential here and central to systemarosa’s mission statement. “You don’t necessarily need to be fully decked out in your club’s kit to showcase that you are a football fan,” she says. “Our purpose is to show people that there are alternative ways of including your football interest [in your outfit] that is not so loud.”
This isn’t just about fans – players can, of course, provide a football fashion moment to remember, by collaborating with those who excel in this area. “When I first worked with Declan Rice on the Brits [in a suit designed by Matthew M Williams for his brand Alyx], I was really proud that had a really good reaction,” says Jivanda.
Putting a spotlight on the quirks of football culture is no doubt part of what makes this job fun – if a story that Colton tells is anything to go by. “A grassroots women's team from Paris, Cacahuètes Sluts, made peanut butter,” she says. “Felicia went to Paris to try it. [Now] people want to buy their merch. There’s a market for this [kind of story].”
“I love to incorporate my culture, my [Nigerian] heritage, into a lot of my collections,” she explains. “Football is such a big thing in Africa, you see kits wherever you go. ”
Ojechi worked with Chelsea FC on a Blue Creator project this year designing a collection, but focusing on a part of the community perhaps not usually at the forefront. “I love to incorporate my culture, my [Nigerian] heritage, into a lot of my collections,” she explains. “Football is such a big thing in Africa, you see kits wherever you go. But I did other pieces, like puffer jackets with different prints on it and joggers with a detailing that's taken from a past jersey. We're so focused on the jersey [when it comes to making sportswear] but to actually take it beyond that is maybe the way to evolve it.” The reaction was gratifying, she says. “A lot of the comments I've seen have been like ‘This has made me feel seen by Chelsea’,” she says. “I grew up seeing my Dad so passionate about [the club]… It’s nice to celebrate them and highlight them.”
As for the future, it’s female. Pennant argues this starts by looking at the past: “There's so much to be done uncovering the hidden history of women in this space.” And Accardi sees the work that SEASON zine and systemarosa have done as just the start to making football culture more inclusive. “My hopes are that more women, specifically are going to have the chance to express themselves through football,” she says. Crucially, she predicts, the connections between football and fashion will become seamless – something that is music to my ears, as I am sure it is for others. “It’s not going to be if you’re in fashion, you cannot be a football fan. I hope that fashion people look at football as something that is a collective experience that is really fun, rather than just a sport for sweaty middle-aged men.” Don’t we all?
“I hope that fashion people look at football as something that is a collective experience that is really fun, rather than just a sport for sweaty middle-aged men.”
What to wear
The love for football has had a big impact on these wardrobes – as the football shirts worn here testify. But the direction that combination of football and fashion takes is varied across the group. Maleh, as a committed player as well as fan, has the most direct relationship between the two. “I have two sides to it because I do play football, so I have football style in the active performance way,” she says. “I like to keep it quite simple, but when it's cold, it's quite fun to play with layers, like patterned undershirts. Within my team, we also love hair accessories.” Off the pitch, the influence remains, but paired with “shoes with a little bit of a heel, or non-active”.
Fandom also plays its part beyond match days. Accardi says she could never wear a shirt other than Inter Milan’s, the club she supports, and I am the same – even if some others, like the PSG fourth jersey with the Jordan wings this season, tempt me. Pennant – a Chelsea fan – takes her allegiances to colours and enjoys subverting her natural coquettish and avant-garde fashion instincts with technical fabrics and high-performance staples. “I have a lot of blue in my wardrobe, way more blue than red,” she says. "I’ve only more recently started getting into red. Before I was like ‘I can't wear red because of Arsenal, United and Liverpool.’”
“I have a lot of blue in my wardrobe… I’ve only more recently started getting into red. Before I was like, ‘I can’t wear red because of Arsenal, United and Liverpool.”
In general, relaxed style dominates, with a sense of contrast central. My favourite outfits have a 10 per cent chaos factor – an oversized football shirt worn with an iridescent pleated skirt, for example. “I wear a lot of carpenter pants and heavy-duty shirts, but I mix and match them with more feminine pieces,” comments Accardi. “It’s just whatever feels comfortable to me.” Jivanda tends to shop beyond the expected. “I wear a lot of menswear,” she says. “Most of my jackets are menswear because I like the silhouette and how they're an oversized fit.” Colton, meanwhile, plays with outfits depending on mood, for a chameleon-like effect. “I dress for comfort but I also like to wild out a bit,” she says. “If I'm feeling masculine or feminine, I have the stuff in my wardrobe where I can easily transition. I can wear a vintage Italia 90 shirt, have my hair up in a bun, or go a bit rough and ready and wear jorts, football shirt, trainers, act like I'm going to the park to play five a side.” Ojechi, meanwhile, perhaps keeps it the simplest. “I love a jean,” she says.
L to R: Felicia Pennant, Lauren Cochrane, Ebele Ojechi, Lauren Colton, Naomi Accardi, Alesha Jivanda and Maria Maleh
Creative Credits
Lighting MAXIMILIAN MCKAY @maximilianmckay
Digi Opp CHLOÉ YATES @chloekyates
Videographer STEVO @stevo_
Stylist ELLA LUCIA @ellaluciaa
Stylist assistant LOLA TURNER @lolaturnerlndn
Glam BILLIE MCKENZIE @billiemua
Glam assistants HANNAH SHAIKH @hannah.shaikhup and EMERALD YUN @emerald__yun
Production HOT SAUCE @hot.sauce.presents
Creative Direction FELICIA PENNANT @feliciapennant
L to R: Alesha Jivanda, Naomi Accardi and Ebele Ojechi
L to R: Maria Maleh, Felicia Pennant and Lauren Colton
Clothing credits
Felicia Pennant wears a SYSTEMAROSA vintage football jersey, LEVI’S® Alessie Bustier Dress and Relaxed Fit Trucker with UNTITLAB boxing boots.
Lauren Cochrane wears an ARSENAL FC vintage football jersey, LEVI’S® High Baggy Plaid Short and Harlie Cropped Shirt with hand-dyed socks and stylist own shoes.
Ebele Ojechi wears a NIGERIA football jersey, LEVI’S® 578 Baggy Denim, The Baggy Family and Sunrise Trucker Jacket with ROKER heels.
Lauren Colton wears a LEEDS FC football jersey, LEVI’S® Baggy Dad Cargo Short and Original Trucker with ADIDAS ORIGINALS X WALES BONNER Samba sneakers
Maria Maleh wears a JAPAN football jersey, LEVI’S® XL Skirt and Trucker Western Denim Jacket with stylist own shoes.
Alesha Jivanda wears a CHELSEA FC football jersey, LEVI’S® 90s Shrunken Trucker Jacket and 501® 90's Western Jeans with stylist own shoes.
Naomi Accardi wears a SEASON ZINE football jersey, LEVI’S® 501 Jeans and Boyfriend Pocket Cardigan with stylist own shoes.