How did the jersey of a second division team in Brazil end up being the favorite object of Korean pop?

It is not common to see a Guarani fan on the streets of Brazil.

The soccer team from Campinas, the third largest city in the state of São Paulo, is proud to have been the only club from the interior to win the Brazilian championship, but it has been a long time since it competed on equal terms with the big names of that sport.

Finding a fan of his outside of his hometown is almost a rarity.

But even more curious is knowing which audience has fallen in love with their green uniform: young fans of

J-Pop

and

K-Pop

(Japanese and Korean pop) from the other side of the world.

It all started with a post on Instagram.

In a photo shared in October last year, Japanese artist Rio Hanabashi posed in front of the more than 1.6 million followers of her girl band, NiziU, from the locker room seats of a sports facility.

Over her khaki cargo pants she wore Guarani's green shirt.

Following in her footsteps, the Korean Gaeul, from the group IVE, made her appearance with a pink version adorned with silver details.

South Korean singer IU, for her part, appeared in a blue wool version while she left a hotel in Milan.

Both were bootleg t-shirts from unknown designers.

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It was enough to turn the garment into an object of desire among her millions of followers.

The shirt of a team outside the first division for more than a decade has taken on a new life thanks to the fans of these singers and is now available in various digital stores in South Korea.

For a price that reaches up to 50 euros, you can purchase the set, which is originally green, in a variety of versions: made of different materials, with modifications to its shield and even with alternative colors (which includes black and white of its biggest rival, Ponte Preta).

However, it is still unequivocally the Guarani uniform: the letters GFC on the left, the old sports equipment brand Dell'Erba on the right and, usually, the sponsor, which is usually the multinational Brother, on the abdomen.

The use of soccer jerseys is not something new in the world of fashion.

Blokecore

,

a term coined by TikTok user Brandon Huntly in December 2021, describes a style that fuses traditional uniforms with other clothing items, evoking the way blokes

used

to

dress to

support their teams during games.

The team t-shirt is essential, usually accompanied by jeans and sneakers.

The emergence of

blokecore

has contributed to further spreading the emblems of the big clubs around the world.

K-Pop, for its part, has imposed its influence on fashion since its inception.

As their singers choose their style, their followers are quick to emulate them.

In 2015, Adidas sports

leggings

sold out in South Korea after singer Son Naeun of the group Apink wore them.

Some brand stores promoted them as “Naeun's pants.”

Similarly, the singer Yuna unleashed the obsession with a black Zara bag.

In men's fashion, the

crop top

gained popularity thanks to singers such as Jungkook of BTS, Kai of EXO, and Yeonjun of TXT.

The t-shirt is for sale on various Korean and Japanese websites, although without an original license.Deepening.kr

After becoming a trend, the t-shirt is sold in various colors, although the original is the true one.Deepening.kr

Free and unlicensed versions have turned the t-shirt into a sweatshirt.Zigzag.kr

Unlicensed producers sell the shirt even in a black version, the color of the Guarani's main rival, the Ponte PretaLewkin.com

But how did the Guarani shirt reach the K-Pop orbit?

The main theory is that the clothes remained in Japan after a tour that the team made to that country in 1996. On that occasion the Brazilians played two friendlies against Verdy Kawasaki and Kashima Antlers.

Striker Adriano Raio, who was part of the trip, recalled in the Brazilian sports media

Globo Esporte

that it was common to exchange clothes: “It happened during the change of sponsor.

They gave us t-shirts for the trip, both the old kits and the updated ones with the new sponsorship.

We used to exchange the new ones with our rivals after the games and we gave the old ones to those fans who took photos with us.”

It is very likely that some have passed from hand to hand until they reached Rio Hanabashi's closet.

On X (formerly Twitter) profiles in Brazil, it is common to find pages that merge elements of Asian culture, such as anime

or

K-Pop, with news about soccer teams.

Pages like @animefla (dedicated to Flamengo) and @kpopspfc (dedicated to the São Paulo Football Club) have thousands of followers who interact with memes and montages that combine their

idols

[as South Korean stars are called] with their team's uniforms. favorite teams.

Oziel Moura, a Guarani fan and K-Pop fan, found the idea of ​​creating a similar page natural after the image of Rio wearing his team's shirt went viral: “It was an opportunity to combine music with sport and make K-Pop known to fans, as well as Guarani to K-Pop fans,” he says.

Moura was excited when she saw the singer and her beloved t-shirt together for the first time: “There was a lot of doubt and euphoria among the fans;

“No one understood what was happening, but we were happy to see something we love with or with such influential people on the other side of the world,” he says.

Curiosity about the use of t-shirts turned her page, @guarani_kpop, into the reference point for all the news about other singers who wear them and theories about the arrival of uniforms in Asia.

“We started research to find out the origin of the t-shirts and always updated when something new came up,” she explains.

Furthermore, this phenomenon gave him the opportunity to immerse himself even further in K-Pop culture: “Gaeul, from the group IVE, and IU are already established artists in the country, we already knew them, but Rio was a new artist.”

The singer IU wears a blue wool version of the Guarani t-shirt.Twitter @guarani_kpop

The singer Gaeul showed a pink version of the t-shirt on social networks. Twitter @guarani_kpop

The Guarani has not yet obtained benefits from the new trend.

The team has not licensed its brand to any company in Korea, so the garments are sold irregularly.

While they try to develop an official sales channel with local companies, the club enjoys its newfound celebrity, even if it is not for sporting reasons.

Adriano Hintze,

marketing

director of the organization, was surprised by the viralization: “We realized that there was a very big impact on the networks and we immediately took the opportunity to republish it,” he tells ICON.

In addition,

Bugre

, as the team is also known, took advantage of the occasion to announce an official collection inspired by K-Pop and the uniform worn by the artists.

“We are going to offer it in different colors, but we automatically exclude the black color due to the rivalry with Ponte Preta,” says Hintze.

The club is trying to prepare meetings with the artists.

Gaeul, who wore the pink version, has a concert scheduled for June in São Paulo.

“We plan to give away the official uniforms not only to Gaeul, but also to Rio and other

idols

who wore the shirt.

We want something exclusive for their concerts,” adds Hintze.

Although the meeting is not yet guaranteed, the team's mark on Asian fashion has already been marked.

In the midst of a sea of ​​giant teams competing for ever greater exposure for their brands, the

Bugre

jersey stands out not for a million-dollar budget, but for the

retro

simplicity of its design.

While the club concentrates on its training before the start of the Brazilian season, it welcomes a new fan who, although far from the fields where it plays, honors the first verses of its anthem: “I always carry with me /to any location/the green and white flag/symbol of the fans.”

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