Illustration by Chelsea Pujols / SOC Images.
This summer New Jersey hosted its first World Cup since 1994.
Hundreds in Hudson County represented their favorite teams through colors, flags and more stamped onto their clothing. Bedazzling, tailoring and embroidering jerseys were popular customizations online as excitement for the soccer tournament grew.
Beyond the World Cup, North Hudson has had a long and close relationship with fashion. Union City has been known as the “embroidery capital of the world” since the 19th and 20th century, thanks to the work of Swiss, Austrian and Cuban immigrants. And ever since then, whether the clothes are customized, brand-new or thrifted, Hudson County residents have been quick to show out with bright colored jerseys supporting teams like Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico, decorating local streets like Bergenline Avenue.
Over in Clifton’s The Vintage World, co-owner Alex Hernández told Slice of Culture that jersey sales have almost tripled from five to six sales a week to 25 to 30 during the World Cup.
“There was so much people that wanted to wear a soccer jersey rather than just knowing the team. They just wanted to wear it, [whether it is] a national or just a simple, regular team, just to have that feeling that they are actually being part of the momentum of FIFA or World Cup,” Hernández said, who’s a jersey reseller.
Hernández began reselling shoes five years ago along with his brother Jorge, then transitioned to selling jerseys and clothing four years ago.
The brothers source jerseys from flea markets, thrift stores and other resellers, making sales through Instagram and EBay, where they sell to a national and international audience. This year, they made sales from New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania to the UK, Switzerland, Italy and Mexico.
Hernández told Slice of Culture that 60% of sales during the World Cup were international, while 40% were national, and they sold jerseys between $25 to $65.
“We always try to have affordable jerseys,” Hernández said.
Soccer, recognized as the world’s game, united people online and offline through conversations about players’ style and kit designs, with many wanting to emulate the winning team’s look. Lamine Yamal became a Gen Z favorite after Spain beat Argentina on July 19’s final.
The 19-year-old champion has become the new face of American Eagle as the brand’s global ambassador and is featured outside New Jersey’s American Dream Mall. Hernández predicts his audience will begin to request No. 19 pieces soon.
Hernández said fashion and soccer are a “good thing that everyone can be a part of” regardless of age, background or knowledge of the sport.
“I get excited when somebody can just be like, ‘Yo, I’m not into the sport, but I love wearing this, the jersey,” he said.
Ecuadorian-born content creator Kim Parrales calls herself a “comunidad and cultura connector,” a community and culture connector, making videos highlighting local businesses, community events and latinidad. This year, the World Cup was essential in her content lineup.
She told Slice of Culture fashion and celebration play an important role in keeping communities together.
“It gives us another reason to come together,” she said. “A sport like this [soccer] doesn’t only unite a few groups, it unites the whole world. It just shows that no matter what, we can come together for the love of something.”
Home to a Hispanic/Latino community of 40.7% and a foreign-born population of 42.8%, Parrales added that it’s almost-hereditary for many immigrant communities to have a passion for soccer
“It is almost like growing up eating rice and beans.”
– Kim Parrales
Here’s how your neighbors showed up and out this year, captured through illustrations by Chelsea Pujols.
