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Logan Roy. Mr. Rogers. The Dude. The power cardigan has a long and storied history in pop culture. Now, there’s a cardigan wearer whose place in this pantheon we must duly celebrate: David Beckham.
The new four-part docuseries Beckham, directed by Fisher Stevens, has made quite a stir since it debuted on Netflix. It’s a rare intimate look into the soccer player’s dramatic ascendancy, his marriage to Victoria Beckham (née Posh Spice), and his turbulent relationship to fame and the sport that made him. The docuseries is also a veritable banquet of fits, from Beckham’s ‘90s Manchester United jersey to a cavalcade of the most mind-melting Y2K couples style imaginable. (The matching purple wedding looks! The blonde highlights! The sarong!)
When present-day Becks is featured in Beckham, though, his personal style is noticeably more muted and mature than the flashiness we see in the archival footage. It’s a reflection of how his life, once a rollercoaster, has similarly settled into a comfortable rhythm. Now 48 and retired from the beautiful game, the doc literally opens with Beckham gently tending to his beehives. Even the glimpse we get into his closet shows a hyper-organized wardrobe teeming with timeless classics.
Similarly, the most notable look that he wears while being interviewed is a glorious knit cardigan. It’s a collared, cream-colored number with double-breasted buttons, which Beckham pairs with a chambray shirt and jeans. It’s the rare sweater perfect for both padding around the house on an off day, and for being interviewed for a documentary in which you must reflect on your entire life. In this cardigan, Beckham appears unbothered, moisturized, happy, in his lane, focused, flourishing, and—crucially—supremely cozy.
Later in the series, he swaps the cream cardigan for a tobacco brown one. It’s heavier, with a thicker collar, and is the very essence of fall distilled in a single sweater. (When it gets a hole in it, does he … mend it like Beckham?) (Giving myself a red card for that one.)
This is hardly Beckham’s first go-around with some influential cardigans. Back in 2020, he shared some cottagecore photos on Instagram—“Gorgeous day @victoriabeckham not a massive fan of my cardi but personally I think it’s a good look 😎” went one caption—which our friends at Vogue reported caused a 66% spike in cardigan searches that year. While you might not be able to pull off Becks’s purple suit or sarong in 2023, these sweaters are a champion compromise.
