How Two Indie Designers Wound up Dressing BTS for the World Cup

“I didn’t know if RM was even going to wear it or not,” says Marie Lueder, founder of the independent London label Lueder. “It was quite a thrilling football match in many ways for me.” On Sunday night, while hundreds of millions watched the World Cup final, the London designer wasn’t paying much attention to the actual football. After delivering a custom look for the BTS leader, there was no guarantee it’d actually make it onto the halftime stage.Thankfully, it did. Borrowing from the Super Bowl, FIFA transformed the 2026 World Cup final’s halftime into a full-blown American production. And, as it turns out, Lueder wasn’t the only London-based creative to dress the boys. On the same stage, Jimin and Jin wore bespoke belts by designer Eden Tan.From left to right: Jimin, Jin, and RM Hannah Peters - FIFA/Getty ImagesBoth brands were connected with BTS via Hardstyle, the LA-based styling duo of Peri Rosenzweig and Nick Royal, which has worked with the group for years and were responsible for pulling together their World Cup fits.Over the past few years, Lueder has become one of menswear’s most exciting names, fusing technical sportswear with medieval references and football culture in a way that feels totally natural. “It was great that [Hardstyle] were very much interested in supporting indie brands rather than pulling from the big ones,” Lueder tells GQ. “It was really cool.”Eden Tan, meanwhile, is one of this year’s British GQ x Paul Smith residency designers, and he’s built a reputation for handcrafted leather pieces that have been worn by everyone from Travis Scott to Blackpink. He’s also worked with Hardstyle for several years before the World Cup, making him an obvious call when the stylists needed something at the last minute.LuederLuederFor Lueder, the project began around two-and-a-half weeks ago, when Hardstyle first got in touch about borrowing pieces from her upcoming fall-winter 2026 collection. Then the brief changed. Because of New Jersey’s relentless summer heat, RM needed something a lot lighter, which meant creating a custom version of her designs instead. “They knew exactly what they wanted,” Lueder says. “Something lightweight because of the heat. That really is a topic which comes back in every conversation.”Rather than starting from scratch, Lueder reworked one of the label’s engineered sweaters. The finished piece quickly became hotly in-demand within her own studio. “It's literally our favorite now,” she says, laughing. “We were like, ‘Oh, we should have sold that one.’”Tan’s experience followed a similar script. “I found out about this, like, seven days ago, basically,” he says. “It always seems to come close to the deadline. That’s when they realize the outfits they’re making were missing something.”Fortunately, Tan’s always ready for the requests: “I always keep a decent amount of spare belts and these car decal things on hand in case a call ever comes.” (Think the little chrome letters and badges you'd usually find on the back of a car. Tan often repurposes them in his work.)BSR Agency/Getty ImagesNeither designer really appreciated the scale of the moment until the day of the final. “My assistant said, ‘Oh my God, do you think two million people are watching?’ I’m like, ‘No. Billion,’” Lueder says with a chuckle. Fashion shows, she explains, usually “have a specific kind of niche audience”—the World Cup final was something else entirely.For Lueder, there was another reason the collab felt particularly significant. South Korea was already one of the label's biggest markets long before RM stepped onto the World Cup stage, making the partnership feel like a natural fit rather than a lucky break. “I went two times last year,” she says. “It’s one of our favorite and biggest markets. We feel a lot of synergy there, so we hope there’s more to come.”Tan reaches for a comparison outside of fashion to explain his role in the project. “If you’re a music fan, it’s like the small role someone plays on one of the tracks, like a producer,” he says. “It takes a lot of small roles to bring it all together into one cohesive piece.”Eden TanEden TanBy Monday morning, both designers were watching their phones almost as closely as they’d watched the halftime show. Thousands and thousands of BTS fan accounts had started following them and commenting on their posts. She says the fandom is “so important” because “they research everything, they ask questions, and then they promote it perfectly.”Tan had spotted much the same thing. “I don’t know if they’re bots or what,” he says. “It’s just K-pop superfans. You hope you can keep their attention enough to be interested in the wider scope of the brand.”For a few minutes on Sunday night, RM, Jimin, and Jin wore the clothes. By Monday morning, millions of BTS fans knew exactly who had made them. For two independent designers, that’s the kind of exposure money just can't buy.This story originally appeared on British GQ.