Gabriela Hearst will design the Uruguayan Football Association’s national team’s tailored uniforms for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The collaboration marks a personal homecoming for Hearst, who is Uruguayan. Raised on her family’s cattle and merino sheep ranch in Paysandú, she is a seventh-generation rancher who’s rooted in Uruguayan values and tradition.
Uruguay’s national soccer team is one of the most respected in World Cup history. It is a two-time FIFA World Cup champion, bearing four stars.
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“For the AUF, it is of great importance to have Gabriela Hearst join La Celeste [the nickname for the Uruguay football team]. That a Uruguayan so recognized in the world of fashion is entrusted with officially outfitting us for the upcoming World Cup is a source of pride, and the fact that she does so using Uruguayan merino wool greatly highlights the work of Uruguayan agricultural products. Football is just that — from the heart of Uruguay to the brightest runways in the world, with Uruguayan players as global ambassadors,” said Ignacio Alonso, president of the Uruguayan Footwear Association (AUF).
Hearst said, “It is truly an honor to be able to participate in this project alongside the AUF. Not only because I am working with my favorite fiber, Uruguayan merino wool, or with my national team, but because it is a great opportunity to demonstrate that Uruguayan values of quality, authenticity and integrity deserve to be shared with the world. It has been a dream to work with the AUF and the national team. They are all superstars.”
Among her various awards, Hearst, who launched her eponymous label in fall 2015, received the 2016/2017 International Woolmark Prize for Womenswear, the 2018 Pratt institute Fashion Visionary Award, and the 2020 CFDA American Womenswear Designer of the Year. In 2024, she was honored with the 2023 Couture Council Award for Artistry Fashion by The Couture Council of The Museum at FIT.
