The Norway soccer star has taken over the internet and Dolce & Gabbana’s annual haute couture show

It’s a good week to be Erling Haaland’s agent. Even though the Norwegian Manchester City soccer star was knocked out with his team when they were beaten by Jude Bellingham’s England a few days ago (who were themselves knocked out by Argentina yesterday), Haaland has undoubtedly become the star of the tournament. And because he has such a huge interest in style and luxe, he is being inundated with endorsement offers from luxury-goods companies.

Dolce & Gabbana obviously got there first and have been working with the soccer celebrity for some years now. This week, he was the guest of honor at the designer’s annual haute couture show in Sicily’s Taormina. Even though he was sitting next to James Bond candidate Theo James at their Alta Sartoria show in Taormina’s Teatro Antico—the breathtaking ancient amphitheater overlooking the Ionian Sea, and with Mount Etna looming on the horizon—it was Haaland the photographers and the invited guests wanted a picture of. He arrived wearing a beautiful bespoke Dolce & Gabbana evening suit, towering over all of the 100 male models strutting their stuff around him.

Originally built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC and later enlarged by the Romans, the theater stands among Sicily’s most iconic historic landmarks. Its sweeping stone tiers and open-air stage provide an extraordinary setting where history, architecture, and nature converge. Drawing inspiration from Cavalleria Rusticana, the designers transformed the monument into a grand open-air opera, celebrating the drama, artistry, and cultural richness of Sicily. Against a panorama of sea, coastline, and volcano, the spectacle certainly felt timeless.

And yet, beautiful though the clothes were, it was the famous footballer who everyone was staring at.

Every summer, the design duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana choose a luxurious Italian location —could be Rome, Naples, or, this year, a botanical garden and an old amphitheater in Taormina—where they invite their best customers to stay in a fancy hotel, drink vintage Champagne in beautiful, opulent villas, sit at curated dinners where they might bump into the likes of Sophia Loren, Sharon Stone, Lupita Nyong’o, Mariah Carey, or Monica Bellucci, watch bespoke fashion shows, and then make their all-important orders. Then they throw in some press, a few photographers and maybe an influencer or two and have one hell of a party. Dolce & Gabbana’s retort to Paris’s haute couture collections, these trips are extraordinarily successful for all involved, and for the invited guests, provide a truly unforgettable experience, a chance to touch the world of luxury up close, and deliver bragging rights in the form of a variety of plastic suit holders and expensive matte-black shopping bags.

It’s like White Lotus, basically, but with less killing and more shopping.

And this year the event was even more notable because of the appearance of Haaland. There was a dinner for 500 after the fashion show on Tuesday night, and he was besieged by guests wanting to talk to him, talk his picture, take selfies, and just bask in his glory. Predictably—he is a nice guy—he was charm personified, smiling, wrapping his arms around people, and engaging with everyone who came up to him. Being English, I asked him about the England team’s chances, and he was blunt in his appraisal.

“Look, if you are lucky enough to beat Argentina, which is a stretch, you will get beaten by France in the final,” he said. As it was, France were beaten by Spain while England were thwarted by Argentina, meaning Sunday’s final has a completely different complexion to it, and offers Lionel Messi the opportunity to win back-to-back World Cups should his Argentine team triumph. Haaland and I watched the Spanish game unfold on my iPhone, and when he saw that Spain had scored the first goal, he couldn’t believe it.

“Well, that wasn’t in the script,” he said as he raised his eyebrows. “But anything can happen in football.”

And it did. A short while later, Spain scored again and booted France back to, well, France.

Theo James smiled from the opposite side of the dining table, as amazed as we all were about Spain’s fortitude. James is one of the top rumored and most favored candidates among bookmakers to take over as the next James Bond following Daniel Craig’s departure. While the official studio (Amazon MGM) has begun auditions for the role, James has previously downplayed his own chances, stating the franchise needs a reinvention and suggesting that he wouldn’t be the right fit. Which is obviously what you would say if you were being considered. Tonight, all he wanted to talk about was football.

And of course, Haaland, who is undoubtedly the breakout star of these championships.

When I asked the soccer star about Norway’s performance in the World Cup, he couldn’t stop espousing its effect on his country.

“It’s been an amazing experience for the team and for Norway itself,” he said. “The team played fantastically and the effect at home has been really positive. I have had such a wonderful time and I think our performance has perhaps changed the way people think about our national side.”

As he finished his soliloquy he was cornered by yet another adoring fan, who naturally wanted a picture of them both for her son back in San Francisco.

When another guest complimented Haaland on his jacket, he replied, “What do you expect? It’s beautiful because it’s Dolce & Gabbana.”

Haaland’s relationship with the luxury-goods industry has grown almost as quickly as his reputation as one of football’s most marketable stars. While he is best known for repeatedly scoring goals for Manchester City and Norway, he has also become a significant figure in fashion and luxury marketing. Haaland is an ambassador for the luxury watchmaker ⁠Breitling and has collaborated with the brand on limited-edition Chronomat watches featuring meteorite dials (demonstrating a partnership that goes beyond simple sponsorship). His personal style reflects a genuine enthusiasm for fashion, and as well as his obvious fondness for Dolce & Gabbana, is frequently photographed carrying high-end handbags and travel pieces from brands such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford, Chanel, and Goyard. He loves a luxury bag, and has an unusually extensive collection of Hermès Birkins, which has helped broaden conversations about menswear and modern masculinity.

We talked here at Robb Report about his bag collection back in June, but his interest in style is no expedient ruse, and not something which he takes lightly. In person he is incredibly stylish, which makes him come across as a modern-day version of David Beckham. He has Beckham’s innate interest in clothes, an ability to charm the press, and an obvious interest in the good life. On top of this, he obviously has good taste, and isn’t the kind of footballer who is just going to wear something because he was given it for free.

Then there is the “raccoon.” When Haaland returned from the World Cup, he was snapped carrying a stuffed “Whiskey Raccoon” bought in Texas for $750. Haaland bought it on a trip to Wild Bill’s Western store in Dallas, Texas, where he also snaffled some cowboy hats, boots, and a T-shirt that read, “Y’all Can Kiss My Dallas.” The bizarre souvenir became a viral sensation and almost managed to overshadow his Dolce & Gabbana bag.

Almost, but not quite.

This story was first published on Robb Report USA. Featured photo by Julian Finney – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images