Teenage Kicks

April 16, 2022

As soon as Gianluca Busio appeared on the screen of our scheduled Zoom call, his leonine mane taking up most of the window, it felt like an old friend had entered the chat, not like I was sitting with one of the world’s most promising young footballers. His bright smile immediately warmed up the digital room, his chill attitude broke the ice; his whole demeanor screamed nonchalance.

Poised and laid back, Busio’s energy is not exactly what you’d expect from a 19-year-old soccer star whose life recently got completely overturned and propelled towards stardom. Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina—with an Italian father who lives and breathes football, or soccer, as it’s called in the U.S.—Gianluca Busio is the youngest player to have signed with a professional Major League Soccer club since Freddy Adu joined D.C. United in 2004. Last August, he left Sporting Kansas City—the club where he got his headstart—and joined the big guns in Serie A, the top tier of Italian football, where he is one of the few American nationals. In the move, he signed with Venezia F.C. for a reported club-record transfer fee of $6.5 million, cementing his status as a unicorn in American soccer.

Photography by Annie Powers
Styling by John Colver
Grooming by Gabrielle Trezzi
Photography Assisting by Giacomo Colombo, Teo Giovanni Poggi
Styling Assisting by Mauro Locatelli

Sweatshirt KIDSUPER sunglasses COACH

Often compared to former player and current coach, Andrea Pirlo, due to the elegant touch of his fast legs, his facial hair is more 2000s-era Alessandro Del Piero—an Italian player who rocked thick sideburns throughout his career. Busio’s style, however, has nothing to do with Italian baroque. The footballer is a sneakers and sweats type of guy, a true Gen Z hustler who uses musical icons, like Justin Bieber, as his aesthetic references, adapting them to fit his own personal vibe. Since moving to Italy, Busio has gotten a little more into fashion—he admits that seeing his teammates come to practice in a full ‘fit has inspired him to take it up a notch.

Facing a challenging season with Venezia F.C. hasn’t fazed Busio one bit—if anything it’s stimulated him to work harder and keep up with the exciting competition the league has to offer. As the club runs through the second leg of the championship, it will be thrilling to see the young soccer star thrive—both inside and outside the pitch. And hopefully, we’ll see him bring his swag to the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

Ciao Gianluca, it’s nice to meet you. Before diving into your personal wardrobe and new Italian life, tell me about your background—from Greensboro, to Kansas City and now Venezia.

My dad obviously is Italian, so growing up everything in my household was about soccer. Serie A was constantly on our TV. I think my first toy was a soccer ball too, so truly I was just born into this. My older brother and I would always kick about in our backyard and that is all I remember doing throughout my childhood. It started becoming more serious when I joined the U.S. National team and Sporting Kansas City noticed me. That’s when I made the first jump in my career. I moved away from my family and it was a big deal! After four to five years playing well enough there, I made it to Venezia. And I am currently living out my dream.

T-shirt SUNNEI, pants LIBERAL YOUTH MINISTRY

Shirt BURBERRY, pants LIBERAL YOUTH MINISTRY

What was your ‘aha’ moment that made you go: I want to be a professional football player?

Frankly, I never really had a back up plan. But I think it was my first year at Kansas City that made me realize I actually had a chance at this.

How has your life changed since moving to Italy?

It’s changed a lot. I am used to being away from my family, but the atmosphere here is completely different. Different country, different culture, different food and language. In this league, there is so much pressure and support around it, it finally feels like soccer is a real thing. Like, you know, that this is my job! In Kansas, I was professional but it was different—your whole life is not dependent on it. I think the major adaptation I had to make was realizing that this is my full time job.

What is your favorite thing about Venezia?

The city itself is beautiful. Nowadays, I go on a lot more walks and there’s just so many active things to do, like just being about, going to different stores and seeing the architecture. There’s always something to do. It’s something you cannot replicate anywhere else.

Have you picked up any new habits or hobbies?

I am more of a coffee drinker now. I always have an espresso after lunch now, which I never saw myself doing while in the U.S. Now, that’s a normal thing for me. And walking—I walk a lot more.

How do you spend your time off the pitch?

It’s tough to find time because we are always training, but when I do get the chance to hang out, I go shopping and I like to eat out a lot. I see my teammates and we watch the game on weekends or play video games. I don’t have any extravagant hobbies—I am a pretty chill guy.

Tracksuit by GCDS, sweatshirt CARHARTT WIP, briefs OFF-WHITE, shoes NIKE

You play in the most stylish team in the league. Has playing on such a fashionable team enhanced your style in any way?

Oh yeah, this is the most stylish I have ever been and ever seen, really. That’s kind of the vibe of the whole team. Every player here cares about fashion, about how they look. Here you look nice to go to training—I wasn’t really used to that. I wouldn’t say everyday is a competition, but it’s about who comes in dressed the freshest, and on nights out, we make fun of guys who wear hoodies and sweatpants. Everybody is dedicated to looking good off the pitch too.

What is your personal relationship with fashion?

I am pretty close to fashion. I just like looking good. It makes you feel good. I like nice shoes and I am lucky enough to have a Nike contract, so I always try to wear the latest release. I think I have always tried my best—even when I didn’t have money I always tried to look clean. I like being cozy but stylish. I do wear sweatpants with everything, but I am always matching and make an effort to look nice. When it’s time to go out, I am out there a little bit. Sparkles and bright colors, just whatever makes me stand out a little more.

What about sneakers? Are you a collector?

I do love sneakers. I wouldn’t call myself a collector because I give my shoes away a lot, but I own many. My addiction started with the Nike x Off-White Black Prestos. I don’t wear them a lot anymore, but they are definitely my most prized pair. I got them back in Kansas—I was the first person to wear them to training and my teammates would always make fun of me for having the tag on my shoes! I also like Balenciaga a lot, I like Alexander McQueen. I have a very strong collection. But I am the kind of person that does wear their shoes, so some of them are a little run down.

What’s your favorite item in your wardrobe?

A couple of months back I got a baggy, blue and black checkered flannel from Vetements that has their name tagged big on the back. I wear it over hoodies and it fits with everything. I love the color and it matches with a lot of my shoes. For winter, I have a Dior puffer jacket that I throw on everyday over a sweatsuit. It makes everything look better.

Recently, a lot of footballers have become fixtures at Paris Fashion Week. Would you like to become one of those players that’s considered a style icon?

Oh yeah, that’s always been a goal of mine since I have been around the fashion and soccer scene. As a player, you are not only an athlete but a brand. Football is the priority, but you need to have something on the side, too. There’s guys like Neymar and [Karim] Benzema, you see them score crazy goals on the pitch and then the next day they are in a nice outfit at Fashion Week. It’s like, Wow these guys can do it all, and that’s where I want to be. I am not near that level yet, but I think that’s definitely something I am working on off the field.

Shirt, pants and sunglasses DOLCE & GABBANA, shoes NIKE

Tracksuit PHILIPP PLEIN

Do you have any style references?

I try so many different styles that it’s hard to name just one person. One day I’ll be wearing really baggy jeans and the next I am wearing a nice suit to go out. I think Justin Bieber is somebody I look up to, especially now that his style is more laid back. He will go run some errands in a baggy tracksuit and that’s pretty sick. For more formal style, I think David Beckham was definitely one of the first style icons soccer had.

Do you have any match day rituals?

I wouldn’t say rituals, but I do have a routine that I always try to follow. I am a little superstitious, so it starts a couple of days before games. As I am always on my iPad, I will set a schedule for myself to scroll through my screen and go to bed at a very specific time, like the last time we won the game. Also, I always have to wear the same shoes, and if we lose the game, I’ll have to switch them up. Right now, I am wearing the Travis Scott Lows and they have been a good charm so far.

What about music? What have you been listening to lately?

I am a big TikTok guy—my friends would say I am addicted to it. I take a lot of the music I listen to from there. I like good vibes music like Mac Demarco, The Neighborhood... A chill vibe. Before a game, I want to get hyped up a little bit, so that’s when I try to stick to rap. I also listen to a lot of older music my mom used to listen to.

What are your predictions for the World Cup? Do you think you’ll make it?

Personally, the first step for me is to make the call up and play so well up until then then the coach has to put me in. Obviously, I can dream of making hat tricks and scoring goals, but first and foremost I just want to make it there. I do think we have a pretty good chance at qualifying—we have one more game coming up. We are a young team, but we also have guys that have been playing in Europe for a while now, so by the time the World Cup comes, we will have a solid team made up of players that have experience playing at the highest level. We might have a chance at beating a couple of the bigger countries. I believe we could be the one underdog this year, like Croatia [in 2018]. Nobody ever predicted them making it to the final, really.

Culture

The Club Is Coming to the Stage

We enter and make our way to what is approximately front left of the DJ booth, where we’re accustomed to dancing at clubs in New York. “So is this a techno club or a dance performance?” yells an uncertain participant in my boyfriend’s ear. He laughs, bouncing along to Ben UFO, and yells back, “It’s both!” The club has long been a hot topic in European contemporary dance but it is only now making its way into New York performance venues, largely through transatlantic tours. R.O.S.E. follows recent examples like Michele Rizzo’s HIGHER xtn. at MoMA PS1 (May 2024), (LA)HORDE’s Room with a View at NYU Skirball (October 2023), and Gisèle Vienne’s Crowd at BAM (October 2022).

Do these performances compromise the club’s spirit — a space idealized for its anonymity, dark lighting, and thundering music? The notion of the club as a utopian escape is admittedly just that — an ideal — because of how its intense conditions can create barriers to entry. Still, the club remains sacred for many, a place to forge connections and embrace an alternative state of being. Looking at how performances transfer this spirit to new settings reveals what aspects of the club are essential and those that aren’t.

Sharon Eyal, R.O.S.E. 2024. Photography by Stephanie Berger, courtesy of Park Avenue Armory.

Eyal’s dancers make their entrance. The lighting shifts from roving blue to yellow spotlights as Ben UFO’s tracks transition to more melodic beats. Clad in deconstructed lace Dior lingerie with dark red tears painted on their faces, the dancers move cautiously in a tightly maintained pack, slicing paths through the horde with hoof-like steps and jerky leg extensions. After around ten minutes of this controlled choreography, the dancers vanish as the lighting shifts back to blue and Ben UFO picks up his dubby beats. The club, as we knew it, resumes. This cycle of tightly executed movements and free-flowing club-goers repeats several times, each time emboldening the dancers to plunge further into the crowd.

Clubbing in a building once built for the U.S. Army National Guard on Manhattan’s Upper East Side turns out to be surprisingly successful — at least for the audience. What starts as an awkward, scattered group searching for their non existent seats gradually gels into an engaged, bouncing crowd that erupts in cheers each time the dancers enter and exit. Performance patrons who might never step foot in a club find themselves swept up in its potential for communion, moving in unison with fellow ticket holders. But it isn’t until the very end of R.O.S.E. that the dancers finally break free from Eyal’s choreography and join the fired-up audience in a brief moment of improvisatory movement with the music. By keeping her dancers at arm’s length, Eyal seems more interested in the club as a backdrop for her signature movement style than wholly as a space with meaningful stories to be told.

Michele Rizzo, HIGHER xtn. 2024. Photography by Cameron Kelly courtesy of MoMA PS1.

Back in May, I attended Wire Festival, a multiday electronic music event at Knockdown Center that had no shortage of organically united dancefloors. It attracted a crowd of seasoned ravers who were eager to celebrate the start of spring as they danced alongside DJs who played well into the daylight. I left Wire in an afternoon daze to see Michele Rizzo’s HIGHER xtn. at MoMA PS1. My sleepless euphoria only deepened as the performance unfolded, starting with a lone dancer who looked plucked out of the festival.

The dancer, dressed in sneakers, baggy jeans, and a tight tank top, shuffled slowly into the gallery, perfectly in sync with the looping bars of an understated electronic melody. Soon, other dancers, clad in the same staple rave uniform, joined him — each having traveled from Europe for the U.S. museum debut of HIGHER xtn., which premiered at the Stedelijk in Amsterdam in 2018 and quickly became a fixture at kunsthalles and festivals across the continent. As the score’s tempo climbed, the choreography locked into a 16-count sequence, which the dancers executed with precise synchrony. They remained intensely focused, never making eye contact with each other, as they sought release in the endless repetition of synthesized beats. Once the dancers reached their limit, they stopped the sequence and exited the gallery, one by one.

HIGHER xtn. used the focused daylight of the gallery to highlight the meditative release found in the repetitive movements that dominate dark dancefloors. The performance’s restraint brought more consistency and intentionality than Eyal’s all-encompassing club construction in R.O.S.E. Yet both performances offer enticing entry points into club culture for those who may not frequent raves. Rizzo’s ecstatic, hypnotic repetitions reveal how the club can mirror other meditative practices, while Eyal’s interpolation of performance and clubbing helped hesitant audience members blossom by the end. Still, both works overlook one of the most underappreciated aspects of clubbing — its potential for individual expression. HIGHER xtn.’s pristine uniformity especially risks promoting the outdated techno trope that there’s a “right” way to dance to electronic music.

Maybe this shortcoming is, in fact, a benefit. For habitual ravers jaded by one too many sunrise sets, it’s a reminder to return to the club with more intention. If you pause and peer through the darkness, you’ll see hundreds of people moving to the same beat, each with their own subtle variations. This collective choreography is a ready-made spectacle that doesn’t need validation in a theater or museum. And when the music shifts slightly, you can watch the ripple effect sweep through the crowd while feeling the new beat in your body. Maybe this small bit of magic is best left on the dance floor.

Culture

Real Slick, Jack: Psyche Organic Arrives in New York

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Culture

Porsche SCOPES Brings Art, Music, and Design to Toronto

The festival was a full immersion into Toronto’s dynamic creative energy. Day one set the tone with DJ collective Living Room, followed by an experimental performance by Claire Rousay that captivated the crowd. Jewelry designer Steff Eleoff unveiled her Porsche Taycan 4S art car installation—a bold fusion of automotive and wearable art inspired by her Sedona ring—while OVO Sound’s Naomi Sharon and DVSN wrapped up the night with powerful, genre-defying performances.

We witnessed SCOPES Toronto bridging underground and mainstream with day two’s lineup. DJ Korea Town Acid’s set paved the way for Angelphroot and Dameer’s debut of BASSMATI, a track blending South Asian influences with bass-driven sounds. Chippy Nonstop’s return to Toronto and Richie Hawtin’s extended set were milestones of the evening, proving that the city’s underground scene has a global resonance.

The final day featured standout performances from local pianist Harrison, Indigenous artist Tia Wood, and hip-hop visionary Sean Leon, who elevated his set with a live choir. Moonshine Collective’s film and musical performance explored themes of African utopia, showcasing art’s power to bridge culture and technology. Rising Toronto star SadBoi, who paused her tour to perform at SCOPES, further underscored the festival’s commitment to nurturing local talent.

Throughout the weekend, we experienced installations from artists like Mitsu Mitsu and culinary creations from Bar Mordecai, capturing the multifaceted creativity Porsche SCOPES brought to Toronto. This milestone 10th edition, open to all, allowed Toronto’s vibrant arts scene to thrive, underscoring SCOPES’ mission to celebrate local talent while connecting it to a global audience.

office had the chance to connect with rising star SadBoi ahead of the event. In our conversation, she shared insights into her creative journey and reflected on what performing and growing up in Toronto means to her and her work.

How are you, and where are you at right now? You told me you were traveling.

Um, I’m good, I’m feeling really good right now. I’m traveling back to Salt Lake City. I had a show yesterday in Seattle. I’m on tour right now with Coco and Claire.

How is touring life treating you? Do you like it?

I love being on the road. To be honest, I feel like I don’t know—like I’ve had good experiences and bad ones—but this time it’s really fun, especially with the people I’m surrounded by. It’s also the longest tour I’ve been on; I have about four more weeks to go. I’m trying not to think about how many days I have left.

Do you feel homesick?

Yes, because when I start thinking about how many days are left, I start to miss my dogs. I’ve just been trying to stay in the moment—I don’t even know what day of the week it is, to be honest with you.

Oh, sweet! What are your dogs’ names?

Jillian and Winston. I know, they’re crazy names.

You’ll be performing at SCOPES in Toronto, which is where you grew up. Do you feel like the crowd is different when you perform in Toronto compared to other cities?

Yes, I mean, Toronto just feels different because it’s home. Every time I come back to perform, something in my career has changed. The last time I performed in Toronto, people just wanted to have a good time, and I’m excited to perform back home again to see everyone’s reactions. I know it’s going to be different from the last time. It’s exciting to see your own growth. Toronto is a tough crowd, though. If we’re with you, we’re really with you.

So, they’re super picky? You have to gain their respect, or what is it?

I think Toronto people are in their own world, but when something really connects with them, they’ll lose themselves in the moment. But it takes something to bring them out of that. Toronto crowds are tough because even if they like you, they won’t show it outright until they’re really vibing with you.

It’s like a vibe check, right?

Exactly. They’ll enjoy your performance, but it’s hard to explain. When people visit Toronto, they often say, “Oh, you guys are so nice,” and I’m like, “I don’t think we’re that nice, we’re just polite.” Like, you can walk down the street, and no one will say anything, but it’s just our mannerisms.

You mentioned Toronto can have a moody energy, especially at night, and that the underground night scene there really inspires you. Can you talk more about what makes Toronto's nightlife so influential for you?

Absolutely, Toronto has this unique energy that comes alive at night. Similar to New York, there are the popular clubs everyone knows, but you need to find your niche—the people who know where the real parties are. I remember going to raves in high school yards, sneaking in because I wasn’t old enough. Events like Baby, Jerk!, and Yes Yes Y’all were pivotal, exposing me to DJs blending dancehall with EDM—something I hadn’t seen before. Toronto nightlife is moody and intense, but when everyone’s out, it’s like the whole city is alive.