Style Trials 2019: Héctor Bellerín vs. Tom Holland

Last week, Harry Styles claimed a victory over Richard Madden, and now for round 2: Héctor Bellerín vs. Tom Holland.  

Footballers and actors aren't so dissimilar. A chemical reaction between sheer talent and sheer good luck, they're taken by pipette from an ocean of would-be professionals. A special breed, then, and the public do love to emulate those special enough to be, well, special. 

But where stars of the silver screen so often settled for a classic menu, the stars of the pitch were often chastised for a lack of taste. Traditional two-piece for another premiere, another meat string headband for the World Cup. No longer, though. Marvel wunderkind Tom Holland is proof that actors don't always bland a punch. Héctor Bellerín is breaking the mold in the Premier League, too.

Photo by GETTY IMAGES.

Photo by GETTY IMAGES.

The latter's rise to style paragon proper has been swift. Bellerín, once known for sporadic bursts of left-fieldism, long settled for a short back and sides above gear that didn't ruffle too many feathers. But that all changed. The 24-year-old leaned into streetwear, the directional kind, the high-brow high-end pieces that trumped go-to terrace threads. Instead, we saw puffer jackets in jacquard florals, Beetlejuice stripes on the front row of Paria Farzaneh and Prada bucket hats as Bellerín became a fashion week mainstay. This wasn't just a way to fill tabloids, either: The Arsenal right back has a real passion in menswear. 

Interest that was ultimately paid in kind. For Louis Vuitton's SS20 show, Bellerín walked among a brigade of models all handpicked by creative director Virgil Abloh. Footballers do have a place in fashion. 

Tom Holland's trajectory however, wasn't on the runways of Paris. Instead, Spider-Man used the long and winding road of a Marvel marketing campaign to quickly craft a signature. Where his co-stars go simple, Holland consistently hits a high-low tailoring high note. A tall order at the tender age of 23, but a successful one. 

Photo by GETTY IMAGES.

Photo by GETTY IMAGES.

Take the pajama shirt and tailored trouser in Indonesia. Or, perhaps, the fail-safe black suit dressed down with a gray T-shirt on the late night TV circuit. Both point to a star on the ascendance that's wise beyond his years. And better yet, it's nuance replicated in Holland's off-duty rotation: denim jackets that fit in all the right places, and a lot of other incredibly sharp jackets too come to think of it. 

So, who wins? The footballer that's joined Beckham in the ranks of well-dressed Premier Leaguers, or the prince of the premiere making a claim for the throne?

Photo by ANA DAVILA.

This story originally appeared on Esquire.co.uk. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.