Future FWD is all about giving the next generation of talent a platform to explore the topics shaping the future of sport, culture and marketing.

As part of our 2026 cohort, Julia Metzler has taken a closer look at the growing influence of athletes beyond the field of play. From fashion and creativity to social media and brand partnerships, she explores why athletes are becoming such powerful cultural tastemakers, and what that shift could mean for brands looking to work with them in a more meaningful way.

Athletes are increasingly setting trends, moving from wearing culture to helping create it.

The present:

For years, the relationship between sport and fashion followed a fairly predictable formula.

An athlete would sit front row at a show, appear in a campaign or wear a limited-edition collection. They were treated as a means to an end - a way to bring attention. The brand or designer remained firmly in charge of the creative direction.

That relationship has changed. Athletes are now the ends in themselves.

That shift shows up in how the work gets made, not just who's in it. At Paris Fashion Week for Autumn/Winter 2026, designer Willy Chavarria debuted a collection with adidas Originals that centred football. The runway and campaign featured footballers including Marcelo Vieira and Rodrigo Huescas, alongside designs inspired by football heritage and historic Mexican kits.

Football was woven into the creative idea; it was not stamped on at the end for publicity. Football's history, visual language and cultural relevance to Mexican national identity were integral to the collection itself.

The past:

Yet, athletes directing culture is hardly a new phenomenon:

1. Michael Jordan did far more than dominate basketball in the 1980s and 1990s. The launch of Air Jordan helped turn trainers into cultural currency, blending sport, fashion, music and identity in a way that still shapes sneaker culture today.

2. Then came David Beckham, whose hairstyles were often discussed almost as much as his free kicks. In the 1990s and early 2000s, his influence stretched well beyond football, helping to change how male athletes approached fashion, grooming, and celebrity.

3. Serena Williams brought that same radical self-expression to tennis. Through bold colours and unconventional outfits, she used the court as a stage for her individuality, challenging the sport's rigid and traditional visual codes.

(Image: Nike Air Jordan, Nike)

Clearly, it is not new that athletes act as tastemakers. What has changed is the context around them. Fragmentation is what makes their singularity clear: against a scattered media landscape, live sport and the athletes within it stand out precisely because there's only one of each. And because media is now everywhere, that clarity doesn't just register, it multiplies.

We are living in a fragmented media landscape:

People move between streaming platforms, social feeds, podcasts, creators, online communities and traditional media. Everyone has their own algorithm, their own niche and their own version of what is popular.

The days in which most people watched the same television programme, listened to the same radio station or followed the same handful of celebrities have largely faded.

Live sport is special - by definition, it remains one of the few things that still pulls groups into one shared moment. A major final, last-minute goal or record-breaking performance cuts through the noise in a way that very little else does.

(Image: Unsplash)

It is not only the moment that is singular, but athletes also have a distinctive kind of authority.

Sport gives athletes a clear, understandable form of credibility.

There is one world number one. One race winner. One Ballon d’Or recipient. Eleven players make the starting line-up, while plenty of very talented people remain on the bench.

This scarcity matters.

Fans have watched athletes earn their position. They have seen the pressure, setbacks, victories and defining moments. Their status feels tangible because it has been tested publicly, often in front of millions.

Of course, sporting success does not automatically turn someone into a cultural icon. Being brilliant at football does not guarantee great fashion sense, as decades of questionable team arrival outfits have certainly proven.

But when elite performance is combined with a strong personality, clear point of view or distinctive style, the result can be incredibly powerful.

The athlete’s cultural influence has something solid underneath it. Fans understand what they have achieved and what they represent, which gives their choices extra weight.

The pervasiveness of social media grants us more access to athletes:

For previous generations, an athlete’s personality was filtered through post-match interviews, press conferences and occasional advertising campaigns. Today, fans constantly see athletes’ routines, opinions, outfits and music tastes through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Long-form documentaries on Netflix and Prime Video add another layer, giving audiences access to the person behind the performance.

And increasingly, this is becoming habitual rather than occasional:

More exposure means more personality. And when fans feel like they know someone, their influence tends to travel much further.

We can see that effect particularly clearly in long-form storytelling:

The appetite is not simply for more access, but for access that feels personal and human.

A haircut, outfit, celebration or turn of phrase can move from the dressing room to millions of feeds in a matter of hours. Athletes have always had a platform. Now they have far more control over what they do with it.

The singularity of the athletes and live sport, coupled with this media landscape, creates a powerful combination.

Sport delivers the mass moment. Social media and entertainment platforms allow the athlete to keep that attention afterwards.

A performance might introduce someone to millions of people in a single night. Their content, personality and creative choices determine whether that attention lasts for the next week, month or decade.

What brands should be paying attention to:

For brands, the opportunity goes well beyond putting a recognisable athlete in front of a camera and hoping their fame does the rest.

The most interesting partnerships lean into the new position of athletes, ones that allow the athlete or sporting culture to shape the idea itself.

That might influence the product design, creative direction, collaborators, visual identity or the way the story is told. The athlete should feel like part of the creative process rather than someone brought in once everything has already been decided.

(Image: adidas x Willy Chavvaria show)

The adidas and Willy Chavarria show worked because football heritage ran through the full collection. Adidas has taken a similarly layered approach through its collaboration with the Jamaica Football Federation and the Bob Marley Foundation, drawing on the relationship between football, music and Jamaican identity.

These projects have depth because they are built around something culturally specific. They understand the communities, history and values involved rather than simply combining a few famous names.

That is where brands need to be careful.

A generic ambassador delivering a generic message might still generate reach but reach alone does not create cultural influence. Audiences can usually tell when a partnership has been carefully considered and when someone has simply been handed a product five minutes before the shoot.

That expectation reflects a wider shift in how audiences choose who to listen to. MKTG's World Cup 2026 research found the following:

For athletes increasingly operating in that same creator space, personality and credibility cannot simply be switched on for a campaign.

Working with athletes in this way also means giving up a degree of control.

Athletes with genuine cultural influence will bring their own tastes, opinions and creative preferences. Brands need to make room for that. Polishing away everything that makes the athlete interesting defeats the purpose of working with them in the first place.

So, are athletes becoming bigger cultural tastemakers?

The most influential athletes today are not necessarily more interesting than Michael Jordan, David Beckham or Serena Williams were at their peak. They're operating in a new context - one where singularity meets access, and access compounds into influence that outlasts the moment that created it.

For brands, the real question isn't whether athletes have cultural power. It's whether they're willing to hand over enough control to use it.