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Men would rather be fashion designers than footballers

7th September 2010 Print
Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Given the World Cup backlash, it seems playing for England is no longer the ultimate ambition for British men. In fact, many gents would now prefer to be fashion designers, creating couture collections instead of kicking footballs.

That’s according to research by Vauxhall Motors and Vauxhall Fashion Scout, London Fashion Week’s largest off schedule event, which surveyed men across the UK and discovered that given the choice, more prefer the idea of being a fashion designer (31%) than playing football for England (25%).

It doesn’t end with aspirations for catwalk collections either, as the results of the survey show how the average British man has become a fully-fledged ‘boutique bloke’. Where power tools, pubs and pugilism once dominated male conversations, today’s men will be more likely to discuss their wardrobe with friends and have an easier time naming Liam Gallagher’s ‘Pretty Green’ fashion label than the last Oasis album - 60% correctly named the label, while only 27% could identify the band’s most recent effort.

It also seems that fashion designers themselves are having greater influence on the lives of British men, with those surveyed naming style supremos Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood as more positive role models than David Cameron, Prince Charles and Wayne Rooney.

Commenting on the findings, Robert Johnston, Style Editor for GQ, said: ‘This survey shows a real break with tradition. Where once we might have seen laddish football types idolised and sport top a list of men’s favourite interests, fashion and fashion designers are now favoured above them.

With celebrities like Liam Gallagher venturing into fashion design, British men are finding the idea of owning their own label both acceptable and aspirational. Throw in changing attitudes amongst men and it’s no surprise that we’ve seen the rise of the boutique bloke.’

In fact, so fashion-focused are this generation’s fellas that a third of all men would actually refuse to go out with a girl they considered to have poor dress sense, while the ‘WAGs’ of this world have lost the admirations of many British men to true style icons like Emma Watson and Alexa Chung.

According to Martyn Roberts, Creative Director at Vauxhall Fashion Scout: ‘While the stereotypical British man hates shopping and dreams of the football lifestyle, what we’re seeing now is a tendency for more and more men to follow fashion, with it playing a central role in their lives, from socialising to relationships and entertainment.’

Wendy Towler, spokesperson for Vauxhall Motors, comments: ‘Whether it’s the car they drive or the clothes they wear, style is now key to many British men. Vauxhall Motors became involved with UK fashion because of its heritage as a British company and its forward thinking approach, which recognises the importance of style and design to its customers in all aspects of their lives.’

The most stylish men according to survey results:

1. David Beckham
2. Daniel Craig
3. Jude Law
4. Danny Dyer
5. George Clooney
6. Dizzee Rascal
7. Liam Gallagher
8. Tom Ford
9. John Hamm
10. Wayne Rooney
11. Jeremy Clarkson

More Photos - Click to Enlarge

Vauxhall Fashion Scout