These five SoCal designers adding flare to fútbol fits this World Cup

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to kick off in Los Angeles on June 12, fashion designers across the Southern California region are putting a spin on traditional sports jerseys.

Whether it be screen printing powerful messages on a traditional tee, or upcycling large shirts into more flattering silhouettes, creatives are finding innovative ways to show off their pride.

Here are five Southern California designers to consider when styling your World Cup look.

Miesha

When Victor Maldonado created Miesha in 2022, he envisioned it as a mental health brand that could remind individuals to embrace all aspects of human life, the darkness as much as the light. He began screen printing messages on basic tees and hoodies, including phrases like “give gratitude” or “ You fight with your demons, I dance with mine.”

While soccer played a huge part in his upbringing in the Inland Empire, where he played with premier youth soccer clubs, the 27-year-old never considered incorporating jerseys into his statement pieces; he admits he grew disillusioned with his past coaches and club organizations. In 2023, he created his first custom jersey as a way to reconnect with his love of the sport — three years later, Maldonado would be invited by Karol G’s team to sell his custom shirts at Coachella in support of her 2026 headlining performance.

“I feel like my mind got hurt by my youth growing up with soccer that I forgot about it for a minute,” said Maldonado. “I think these jerseys have reminded me how much I not only love the sport but also how much I love the community surrounding it as well.”

Maldonado’s jerseys are sourced from Santee Alley and are modified with paint using a rotating screen printing carousel with personalized screens. His custom designs range variously include the Miesha name, a half-lady ghost-butterfly, splattered imagery, quotes in cursive and barbed wire lettering. The pieces, all individually crafted, often require more than one squeegee pass.

Such intricate effort and details are also incorporated into Maldonado’s latest World Cup collection, which features unique tees from Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, France, United States and Germany. The jerseys — some of which have already sold out — are available online.

Retro Fitted LA

William Covarrubias launched his upcycled clothing brand Retro Fitted LA in 2020. Among the goals for the self-taught designer: to uplift Central American culture in fashion.

“I noticed that here in L.A., obviously it’s all Mexican,” said Covarrubias, who is of Guatemalan and Bolivian descent. “I try to make it a point to say, we have all these other countries too.”

While Panama is the only Central American country that qualified for the World Cup, the 35-year-old continues to receive commission requests for pieces that highlight nations like El Salvador and Guatemala.

“For me it’s more than just a soccer jersey. It represents your country, your culture, your community, your identity,” said Covarrubias. “I want people to express themselves with these soccer jerseys but with style, with pride.”

Some of his most popular designs are the backless halter tops with an elastic chest and waist area trimmed with a silky lace, as well as scrunched crop-top jerseys.

“ I want girls to feel cute in it. I want you to be able to rock this to the club” said Covarrubias.

And if custom soccer threads aren’t your style, Covarrubias also upcycles Formula 1, NASCAR bomber and Jeff Hamilton-designed leather jackets — one was even worn by Mexican corrido tumbado singer Junior H.

Nico Aviña

Nico Aviña, co-owner of Espacio 1839, has been silk screening political messages on posters for close to 30 years. Three years ago, he started applying those messages to old soccer jerseys. His first effort featured a  cyan-colored Virgin Mary image layered on a retro Chivas tee, which gained traction on his Instagram account.

He later added more intricate ink to deadstock vintage tees: prayer hands and tattoo flash art to give shirts an urban edge, images of Zapatista revolutionaries accompanied with messages like “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go,” or “c— la migra” (f— immigration enforcement).

“Soccer’s has historically been a back-and-forth class struggle,” said Aviña, who sells these tees out of his Boyle Heights shop.

Aviña’s work even caught the eye of pop-singer Joe Jonas, who wore an Argentina jersey featuring prayer hands and a message that read, “Protect me from envy” at a concert in Buenos Aires.

His recent pieces feature designs on Marval and Garcis vintage jerseys — sport manufacturers based in Mexico — and range from Mexico’s second-level division teams (Venados FC Yucatán, Club Atlético Morelia, Tlaxcala FC) to their national soccer team, as well as Italy’s ACF Fiorentina.

As a soccer enthusiast, Aviña said he has always gravitated toward outspoken players like Brazilian footballer Sócrates, who rallied against his country’s military dictatorship, as well as Argentina’s Diego Maradona, who openly challenged Western imperialism and aligned himself with Latin America’s socialist leaders like Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez.

With the tournament fast approaching, he wants consumers to be critical of how FIFA’s negative impact on host nations, citing past human rights violations against migrant workers who helped build Qatar’s infrastructure ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“FIFA extracts all this money but they don’t put anything into [the community,” said Aviña. “We love the sport but we have to be critical about those things.”

Hood Baby LA

Hot summer days are ahead and Saray Martinez, owner of Hood Baby LA, wants all the soccer fanatics to stay cool — and stylish from head to toe.

The Honduran American designer recently launched vibrant backless U-shaped halter tops adorned with a loose lace trim across the mid-torso. But if you run on the colder side, she also features flaring long-sleeve jerseys that range between off the shoulder and a collared neckline. Among the countries spotlighted are Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Portugal, Colombia, Croatia, El Salvador, France and Japan — though she is planning to add African countries to the lineup.

“I make clothes that I would love to wear and that I wish existed,” said Martinez, who launched Hood Baby LA in 2018, and began creating sportswear items in 2022.

Growing up at the San Fernando swap meet where her mom had a booth selling household items, the San Fernando Valley creator still remembers the excitement that flowed through the corridors whenever there was a World Cup.

“You couldn’t really evade it,” she said. Now, the energy feels heavier this year, said Martinez, with community fears over potential ICE raids.

“It’s hard because the World Cup and soccer is very ingrained culturally within Latinos and the people of Los Angeles that it feels hard to celebrate it,” said Martinez. “ Where we put our dollar truly matters.”

When people purchase designs by Hood Baby LA — which have been sold as far as Japan — they can be guaranteed a couture piece.

“I want [the people who wear my designs] to feel joy, to feel seen,” said Martinez.

Nueva Vida

Nueva Vida founder Jesus Mendoza found that there were not many clothing options for women in sports fashion. He decided to give classic jerseys a whirl, transforming them into more flattering silhouettes that accentuate a curvy torso. Paired with a signature lace trim, Mendoza’s one-of-a-kind pieces are coquette staples that balance cultural pride and individuality.

“Anyone can throw on a jersey and call it a day,” Mendoza said. “But I’m giving more options like a skirt, a bralette, a dress. They’re just different things.”

The concept of Nueva Vida began in 2022; Mendoza previously worked as a stylist for retailers H&M and Gap, though he says he always had an interest in designing his own pieces. When he uploaded a video to social media of himself wearing one of his designs — which featured crochet flowers trailing to a back image of the Virgin Mary — people flocked to his comments, requesting to know where he got it from.

“The crochet flowers that I put on it were from a [tablecloth] my mom gave me,” said Mendoza to The Times. He started taking orders shortly after going viral. “She was gonna throw that mantel away ‘cause it had a mole stain.”

For this global tournament, the Santa Ana local has handcrafted dresses, halter tops, bikinis and mini balloon skirts for select countries including Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Argentina.

“You’re literally wearing your team, your culture on your back. I just want people to feel prideful of where they come from,” said Mendoza. “Especially with what we are going through, show where you’re from, be proud and be loud.”