For years, France’s arrival at Clairefontaine has been almost as much about fashion as football.
Players stepping out of their cars in carefully selected outfits, photographers waiting outside the national team’s training centre and Jules Koundé repeatedly becoming one of the biggest talking points — it had become a familiar sight before every international break.
So when Zinedine Zidane decided to change the arrival routine for his first France camp, many wondered whether the fashion show was finally over.
Then Jules Koundé arrived.
Koudé wasn’t exactly dressed to disappear
The Barcelona defender turned up at Clairefontaine on September 21 wearing an orange long-sleeved polo with blue, black and white detailing across the chest.
He paired it with dark trousers and brown shoes, while adding sunglasses, jewellery, a watch and a Louis Vuitton to complete the look.
BeFootball described the outfit as “tenue sobre pour Jules Koudé, on valide?” roughly meaning a “sober or subdued outfit for Jules Koudé, do we approve?”
That description immediately became part of the conversation.
Koundé’s style was certainly less extravagant than some of his previous France arrivals, but calling it completely understated would be difficult. His accessories and carefully put-together combination still made him stand out.
The BeFootball post, credited to Odieuxboby / FFF, quickly attracted hundreds of thousands of views, with fans dissecting everything from his glasses to his accessories.
And Koundé wasn’t the only player who refused to completely abandon the fashion side of international football.
What did the other France players wear?
The first arrivals under Zidane did look more restrained overall, although there was no uniform dress code. Estéban Lepaul, one of the new faces in the squad, was among the first to arrive. He went for an extremely simple look: a long-sleeved top, black tracksuit bottoms and white trainers. It was about as far removed from the elaborate Clairefontaine arrivals of previous years as you could get. Several other players also opted for relatively understated outfits. Lucas Da Cunha, Maxence Lacroix, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé were among those L’Équipe identified as choosing more sober looks.
But the fashion-conscious contingent hadn’t disappeared. Ibrahima Konaté still brought plenty of personality to his arrival, with L’Équipe specifically noting that the Liverpool defender even went as far as wearing a tie. Manu Koné was also singled out alongside Koundé and Konaté as one of the players who clearly put more thought into his appearance. And then there was Kylian Mbappé. The France captain arrived later in the day, wearing a turquoise look from On, the sportswear brand he recently joined after ending his association with Nike. That makes the overall picture more interesting. There was a noticeable shift towards simpler clothing among much of the squad. But there were still players making deliberate fashion choices — particularly Koundé, Konaté and Koné. So, was France’s famous fashion show toned down? Yes, visually. But not because Zidane imposed a dress code. It was toned down because the entire arrival was presented differently.
So, did Zidane really ban the Fashion Show?
Yes — but not in the way it was initially understood. Zidane did change the traditional Clairefontaine arrival protocol. Journalists and photographers were not allowed to attend the players’ arrivals. Instead, the French Football Federation handled the photography and released the images itself. L’Équipe reported before the camp that the arrival images would be produced exclusively by the federation, ending the scene where photographers and cameramen gathered outside Clairefontaine to capture the players. Le Parisien subsequently reported that the players arrived without journalists or photographers present, with members of the FFF’s communications team providing the images. That part of the “ban” was very real. But there was one important detail missing from the headlines. Zidane never banned the players from dressing up. In fact, he explicitly denied giving the squad any instruction to dress more soberly. “I haven’t given any message of sobriety. Everyone will arrive as they see fit.” Zidane explained that what he wanted to change was what happened once the players reached Clairefontaine — rather than dictating what they should wear. The players, he said, would still arrive “as they want.” That makes Koundé’s arrival much easier to understand.
The camera disappeared, but the outfits didn’t
The interesting part of Zidane’s new policy is that it changed the way the arrival was covered, rather than eliminating the players’ individual styles. The FFF still photographed the players, and those images were subsequently distributed to the media. The photographs of Koundé, Konaté, Koné, Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise and the rest of the squad were all made available through the federation, with the arrival images credited to Odieuxboby / FFF. So the fashion show didn’t exactly disappear. It simply lost its usual audience of photographers standing outside the gates. And the first evidence suggests that the squad itself was somewhat more restrained — but not completely transformed. Koundé still wore an outfit that generated discussion. Konaté still arrived in a tie. Koné still made an effort with his look. Meanwhile, several of their teammates opted for much simpler outfits. That is probably the clearest picture of what Zidane actually changed. He didn’t tell the players to stop dressing up. He took away the media spectacle surrounding their arrivals. And judging by Koundé’s latest appearance, that was enough to change the scene — but not enough to kill France’s fashion tradition completely.
