As a global game whose fashions have transcended the field, soccer has skyrocketed to the top of style trends, inspiring bold interpretations of its sneaker silhouettes and traditional jerseys from style savants and luxury brands alike. While the new wave saw a massive surge over the past summer, specifically with adidas’ Samba shoes and Brazil jerseys serving as the season’s staples, CBS Sports broadcaster Jenny Chiu has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to wearing and styling soccer kits.
Although she amassed a loyal following for her shrewd coverage of soccer on CBS Sports, the former player’s audience expanded when she merged the worlds of sport and style together on her social media platforms. Taking to TikTok, the media maven started showcasing the ways in which she styles jerseys from some of her favorite teams, including Inter Milan, documenting how she dresses the kits up and down. After a couple of viral videos in her styling series, the 28-year-old reporter began receiving numerous requests to curate more looks centered around fan-favorite jerseys.
“The cultural phenomenon of a fanbase that feels so much love towards their jersey and their team that they’ll automatically follow and support people because you like their jersey is beautiful to see. People feel represented.” she shares. “My DMs blew up with people asking me to do this kit and style this jersey and [even] different companies were reaching out.”
When she’s not revamping the jerseys in her rotation by pairing them with unconventional pieces, Jenny’s a familiar face for avid watchers of CBS Sports. Covering any and all things soccer, the Chinese-Mexican talent has worked on UEFA Champions League as a sideline reporter, covered the U.S. Men’s National Team and hosts two additional shows, Attacking Third, which focuses on women’s soccer, and Scoreline, a weekend highlight show that spotlights all the happenings in the world of soccer. With CBS Sports’’ coverage of the Champions League quarterfinals starting April 9 and every match available to stream live on Paramount+, we sat down with Jenny Chiu at Saturdays Football, to discuss her finals’ predictions, fashion evolution and the pivotal role soccer played in it.
Continue scrolling below for the full interview.
How has your love for soccer impacted the way you style your clothes?
I didn’t grow up super fashionable or anything. My parents came from humble beginnings so fashion or clothing weren’t things that were top of mind for us and me specifically. Honestly, it wasn’t until I started traveling for my job as a broadcaster [that things changed] because you want to present yourself in a certain way. I traveled to Europe for CBS Sports Champions League and [my style] went up quite a few levels because in Europe the way that everyone presents themselves is a bit more in your face than in Orlando where I was living at the time. Fashion and style wasn’t something you were seeing a lot of day-to-day.
[With] the global game, I find myself finding cultural or local things about a city [to pull inspiration from]. If I see a jersey, I’ll pull from what I know about that place or the colors, whatever it may be. I’ve experienced so many different cultures because of soccer, specifically as a [former] player. I traveled with the Mexican National Team and then as a reporter around Europe and saw that there’s something about every place that you can pull from.
What role do you think soccer plays in the current fashion landscape?
I love that you brought up the Adidas Samba aspect because I see it all the time and I post about it on my social media and I’m like “at least kick a ball in them” because these shoes are made to be played in. These shoes are made to play street soccer in so I feel like I have mixed feelings about it. But, I like that [soccer’s] coming to the center stage and is at the forefront of high fashion. I think it’s really cool and I always thought that soccer was the cool thing to do but now more people are getting on the same train I’ve been on.
I also think that when we try to sell [soccer] – mind you, I’m on the side of broadcast – we’re trying to grow the game. When I speak in panels about trying to sell the sport or sell women’s football as a concept, it is the idea that creates influence. So, having it become a cultural forefront within fashion and within celebrity culture makes it the cool thing to do and people get more curious about it. I truly believe that anyone who gets introduced to the game will really love it and stay to be a part of it. That’s why it’s the global game, it’s the number one game in the world.
Tell us about showing off fandom through fashion. Do you find wearing jerseys opens up conversations out in the real world?
I think that jerseys are the easiest way to start conversations and make friends. You see someone with a jersey, you immediately name the player and you can immediately start talking about that player’s history. Someone the other day was wearing DC United’s cherry blossom jersey and cherry blossoms mean so much to that area. We started talking about that and then the bridge falling in Baltimore and that immediately started a conversation about how he was representing his hometown with the DC cherry blossom jersey. That’s a tiny example but it happens all the time. A lot of people are also born into fandoms. Their parents were fans or their grandparents were fans and so they became fans. There’s something so beautiful about the history within families, within communities that ties back to fanbases.
Talk to me about your approach to fashion and style. How would you describe it?
That’s a tough one because I’m very versatile. It’s very dependent on my feelings for that day. I’ve become more comfortable with [fashion] through this styling process. In the beginning, I liked to play it safe wearing just baggy pants because that’s what’s common in streetwear. I didn’t want to do too much. Then I started to get a little bit more out of my comfort zone and recognize that “hey, what makes me happy?” Maybe adding a purse to my outfit or asking myself, “how do I want to do my hair or my makeup depending on this jersey?”
I think that it just depends on the kit and the sizing and then I get ideas from that. [Fashion] allows me to show a different part of my personality. The best thing about [fashion] is when people hate [what I wear.] I’ve had friends and coworkers see how I style a kit – not really like it – and when I post it online people will go crazy for it. It reminds me to just trust my gut because this is my thing and I don’t need anyone to approve what I like. If I feel comfortable and I think it’s cool that’s all that matters. I couldn’t have said that a few years ago, I’m becoming more comfortable with myself and trusting myself more.
What’s the best part of being a broadcaster for you?
I think I’m living the dream. I don’t take it lightly. I get to work in what people follow, people follow football day-to-day. They watch the games and I get to talk about what I watch and people care to hear what I have to say. When I’m watching they’ve also watched, it’s [a beautiful sense] of community. The fact that I get to be a soccer broadcaster is the coolest thing ever. This is a moment in time, who knows how long I’ll be blessed with this opportunity. I acknowledge that I’m at a beautiful point in my life to go into work day-to-day and talk about the thing I love most. I played soccer my entire life and when I left soccer as a player, all I knew is that I wanted to remain in the sport. I didn’t mean to become a broadcaster, my goal wasn’t to ever reach this type of thing or Champions League, that wasn’t the idea. But that’s where it’s taken me and I think that’s the most beautiful and natural thing, you always find yourself where you’re supposed to be.
How does it feel to be a woman working in a male-dominated industry?
I think it’s improved quite a bit. You hear stories about the people who came before us and how difficult it was for them but I’ve had a good experience thus far. [However,] I find myself saying “you have to ask for what you want and make your needs known.” As women, we don’t typically do that but because I now understand how to work with men – mind you, I played with an all boys team growing up and was raised by my dad and two brothers – I know not to expect to receive what I deserve. I have to ask for it. Men are more comfortable asking for what they want so I had to step out of my comfort zone and be willing to do that as well.
Who are your favorite remaining teams right now? Any predictions for the Champions League finals on Paramount+?
My team, Inter, is out of it so I don’t really support anyone at the moment. But, I think Real Madrid [has a shot.] I feel an affinity towards them at the moment just because of the history of the team and winning the competition 14 times. There’s something about covering Los Blancos, as we call them, and their professionalism and a couple of their players that pulls at my heartstrings. Vini Jr., for example, was just in an interview talking about fighting against racism and how much that has hurt him and the idea of a young man being put in that position [is terrible.] I just want him to have success. For him to take the forefront of the [fight against racism] and speak out for others is beautiful and I think it’s worthy of following and supporting. So, while I support Real Madrid for the human aspect of it, I do think Manchester City is going to win.
With such a busy lifestyle, how do you keep up with the games, league happenings and your personal life?
All parts of my life intersect. My partner is super into football as well so we watch it together. It’s part of my romantic life. [Same goes] with my friends, they’re super into football too. All of our group messages are going off about the games, talking about something that happened during the game and then I’ll be doing the same thing in a few hours but on television. It’s a part of my life. I think it’s beautiful that I get to do it as my job and show people how much I care because I would do it anyway [if it wasn’t my job.] I talk on a lot of women and sports panels and the fact that I’m so diverse, I talk to a lot of people with my same background. Whether it’s the Asian-American Association or a Hispanic or Latina one, I represent both every time I’m selling football. No one’s paying me to sell it to you to become a fan of the game but I love it so much that I’m like “I promise you won’t regret jumping on because this community is so beautiful and diverse that you can find your people, you can find your team and your fanbase.” It’s just a cool thing to be a part of.
