By Agnese Augusta Patriarca Bertoli and Francesca Trovato
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup reminds the world of football’s power to capture attention and emotion, it also offers a chance to look beyond the game itself and at the athletes redefining what a sporting career can be.
Inside Viola Park, the beating heart of ACF Fiorentina, we meet Agnese Bonfantini to tell a story that goes beyond football: that of an athlete capable of moving between sport and creativity, weaving her career together with the world of fashion. In a particularly significant year for the Viola club, as it celebrates the milestone of its 100th anniversary, ACF Fiorentina confirms itself not only as a sporting symbol of the city of Florence, but also as an institution able to engage with culture, identity, and style.
It is within this context that today’s story takes shape: a journey inside the campus that hosts the daily life of the team, where collective routines meet individual ambitions. An environment where discipline and vision come together, creating space for personal paths that extend beyond the pitch.
Today, away from the field, we explore the everyday life of Agnese Bonfantini, a young footballer representing a new generation of athletes, distinguished not only by her talent on the pitch but also by the entrepreneurial mindset that led her to launch her own brand. A concrete example of how sport and fashion can intersect, giving rise to new forms of personal and professional expression.
Building a Fashion Brand While Playing Professional Football
Tell us a little about yourself, what’s your background?
Well, I’m Agnese. I’m 27 and I play football for Fiorentina. As I already told you, I’m also pursuing my dream of opening my fashion brand, and I’m currently studying for that. Fashion has always been a passion of mine, but football took up most of my time. Now I’m finally doing it.
How Agnese Bonfantini Turned a Passion for Fashion Into Bonf4
Fashion often reflects the world around it. Why and when was Bonf4 Creator Design born?
Last summer I found myself a little upset and I also happened to have a bit more free time, so I took the chance and decided to go for it. In August 2025 Bonf4 was born. I’m a very active person and having found myself with free afternoons really gave me the possibility to dedicate myself to it.
What’s the process behind the creation of your garments? Who does the graphics?
I do it all. I can really be inspired by anything; even now, talking to you I might then look back and the idea might come to me. I try to be as open-minded as I can. Art, music, personal daily experiences: really anything can become my inspiration. One thing I have to say is that the graphics truly reflect my personality. I’m a playful and provocative person, and so are my graphics. At the same time I also try to convey a message, be it peace, equality or freedom, I try to make that part of all my designs.
Designing Without Barriers: Inclusivity and Football
You start as a soccer player, you live in a reality that is unfortunately still filled with male prejudice. How does this have an impact on your designs?
My idea is that anyone can wear my creations; there is not a right or wrong person to wear what I do. I really care about making it accessible and free from prejudice.
What Fashion and Football Have in Common
Would you say your brand is an extension of both your life as a professional footballer and your personal identity?
Definitely. Even my coach always tells me my head gets lost in the clouds. All aspects of my life are in a way intertwined: my personal life, soccer and my brand.
Is it hard to keep it all together?
No, I wouldn’t say. I train in the mornings while in the afternoons I dedicate myself to my fashion brand. I like to keep myself busy at all times. I like being constantly on the move.
Can we dare to say you’re a frenetic person?
Well, yeah… chaotic, creative.
Now that you’re getting to know the fashion industry, what’s your impression of it?
Ah! Look, I’ve always said soccer is not a nice environment, but fashion…
You’re into daring situations, let’s put it that way.
Definitely.
Competition and Motivation in Fashion and Football
Have you found any similarities between fashion and soccer?
I’d say competition. I need that; I need competition to fuel me.
Why Made in Italy Still Matters
What does the production process behind Bonf4 look like?
A mess! At least I’m in Florence and I’m surrounded by great people who support me. It’s very important to me to keep everything made in Italy and keep the quality of my garments high. I love going to the supplier and touching fabrics, discovering new technologies. Quality is expensive but always worth it.
The Story Behind the Bonf4 Brand
I haven’t asked you yet… why Bonf4 written like this?
Bonfantini is my surname while 4 is my lucky number.
Do you remember the first thing you designed?
I do actually. I was with my ex-teammates when I was at Inter, and I designed this pair of pants that had laces on the sides. But I didn’t know how to properly draw a product yet, so instead of drawing the front and back, I only designed the sides. So when I showed everyone the design no one actually understood it was a pair of pants; they thought it was a skirt. They still make fun of me to this day because of it.
Between training sessions at Viola Park and afternoons spent developing Bonf4 Creator Design, Agnese Bonfantini is building a path that reflects a growing shift among young athletes. For her, football and fashion are not parallel worlds but parts of the same identity: one driven by competition, creativity and constant movement. On the pitch she plays as a forward; off it, she is already sketching what comes next.
