Héctor Bellerín Moruno

Hector Bellerín Moruno rose to prominence after he signed for Premier League club Arsenal at age 16, quickly becoming one of Europe’s most exciting young footballers and enjoying a successful nine-year spell with the team before leaving for Spain in 2022. 

But to describe Bellerín Moruno as simply a footballer would be reductive. In fashion, the Spaniard has broken the conventional mould of an athlete-ambassador, emerging as one of football’s first genuine fashion influencers and cultural trailblazers. In recent years, Bellerín Moruno has forged careers modelling and design alongside his sporting commitments. 

He made headlines when was tapped by Virgil Abloh to walk in Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2020 runway show in Paris, and in 2021 brokered a groundbreaking partnership between Arsenal and cult LA designer Guillermo Andrade’s 424 brand that saw the label create formalwear for the team’s players. That same year, he also designed a ready-to-wear capsule collection made from sustainable materials with H&M.

At times, his off-field achievements made him a polarising figure within the football community, with online critics often suggesting that his veganism, environmental activism, and creative pursuits detracted from his on-field performance.

But Bellerín Moruno’s persistence in pursuing these interests helped create a long-term shift in the perception of the role of modern athletes and brand ambassadors — who increasingly disclose their values to fans — and paved the way in deepening the ties between fashion and the world of sport. 

Bellerín Moruno was among the first professional footballers to openly address mental health issues whilst still in his playing career. During the pandemic, he launched his own podcast, titled "More Than," which explored the lives of athletes away from their day jobs during the pandemic.

Whilst Bellerín Moruno is now back in Spain playing for La Liga team Real Betis, he also runs B-Engaged, a London-based sports marketing agency he co-founded in 2014 with his close friend and business partner Ehsen Shah.

“Social media has given us [athletes] the ability to get out of the football bubble,” Bellerín Moruno told The Business of Fashion  in February 2022. “Brands now have the confidence to forge partnerships in football, knowing that players wearing their clothes have distinct personalities, opinions and cultural importance that extends far beyond the sport itself.”