When David Ginola walked the runway for Cerruti

There was a time when footballers and high fashion didn't exactly get along, in fact, machismo and camaraderie didn't match with the ethereal elegance of the catwalks. In the early '90s, for example, the Premier League was very different from the league full of champions and glamour that we see today, and before the Bosman ruling, only native players were on the field. David Ginola was one of the first to cross the Channel, a creative and refined ambidextrous winger capable of scoring sensational goals from outside the box as well as making delicious assists for the center forwards of the time. But above all he was an unconventional character, as handsome as the singer of a boyband and as charismatic as a surfer on top of a giant wave, with ash-blond hair falling on his shoulders and a sculpted physique always on display. 

He became famous in France thanks to the championship he won with Paris Saint-Germain and, in spite of himself, for being one of the protagonists of the transalpine national team's last-second defeat against Bulgaria that cost them a place in the World Cup in USA '94. Broken ties in his homeland, Ginola emigrated to Newcastle United, where he imposed his sparkling and spectacular game, which however failed to give the Magpies that coveted national title. In England, however, Gin-Tonic became a cult player, loved by his fans for his histrionic and over the top character, in addition to his excellent qualities with the ball between his feet, and sought after by big brands as a testimonial. He was a unique profile for the time, handsome and self-confident but also exotic, elegant and attentive to his public persona. 

He replaced Jennifer Aniston on L'Oreal Paris billboards and Lady Diana on Red Cross missions, and walked the runway for Nino Cerruti during Paris Fashion Week in the Spring/Summer 1996 collection. There are no particular details about the story that brought him to the runway dressed by the Italian fashion house founded by "Signor Nino," as the president of Lanificio F.lli Cerruti, who passed away yesterday at the age of 91, was commonly called. In an interview with The Guardian, Ginola simply said he received a phone call and accepted the invitation. And there he was in his grey sweater and pants, hands in his pockets and sly smile, perfectly at ease as he was on the St James' Park strip. Ginola was one of the first players to break the barrier between soccer and fashion and to make the Premier League a modern and international championship, the pioneer of the French invasion that with Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger will characterize one of the most glorious periods of the English league.