No wonder fashion likes to play in the field of football culture — it’s rooted in an emotive realness where childhood nostalgia meets athletic heroism and a sense of place. This heady mix means a lot to massive audiences beyond the stadium, and fashion x football collaborations have snowballed in recent years. Creatives are out-flexing each other with culturally relevant visual cues and sophisticated styling. But when it comes to physical retail, could football clubs match the mood, with more elevated and meaningful spaces where fans can shop collections and commune with the club?
Fashion’s romance of the game
In 2006 Kim Jones scored a notable hit in the football x fashion story with his 2006 terrace-inspired collection for Umbro. In 2018, Vigil Abloh switched things up with Off-White x Nike’s ‘Football Mon Amour’ collection — a playful take on European football branding infused with hip-hop culture. In 2020 Balenciaga — helmed by football-obsessed Demna — presented a full-branded football kit for the fictional Balenciaga Football Club, including an elevated take on the football jersey retailing at $780.
Some high fashion house moves attracted criticism of plundering the culture, and its working-class roots, for their own ends. The best football fashion lines skilfully riff off culture and heritage in authentic and meaningful ways. Manchester United enlisted legendary Mancunian artist Peter Saville to reimagine his iconic artwork for the Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album using players’ heart-rate data. Grace Wales Bonner’s joyful 2023 Jamaican Football Federation kit (below) mingled Scottish and Jamaican motifs in recycled materials.
And cult streetwear label Aries’ 2024 Red White and Blue collection for Umbro, plays on football heritage and English folklore to connect on a primal level. Nostalgia is a huge driver of football fashion. The market for vintage jerseys is huge, with rare pieces selling for £1000s and reissued replica kits meeting fans’ desire to connect with the past. Meanwhile, labels spin their own takes on retro football design, such as Supreme’s 2024 football jerseys inspired by Italian heritage brand, Lotto.
Club collaborations
Football clubs have rushed into fashion’s embrace, entering collabs with high fashion and elevated streetwear to delight fans. From Jordan x PSG, Palace x Juventus, Y3 x Real Madrid, Aries x Arsenal, Moncler x Inter FC to Patta x Barcelona, it’s a talent contest of who can channel fashion prowess and club character with the most aplomb, bathing the club in resultant glory.
The Emirates stadium became the first to hold a London Fashion Week show on the pitch this year with LABRUM London reimagining Arsenal’s 24/25 away kit as a tailored suit.
In this complex and competitive field, clubs are hiring their own creative directors to steer fashion collabs and projects. Crystal Palace appointed Kenny Annan-Jonathan as their creative director, while Birmingham City FC enlisted LA-based sneaker boutique UNDEFEATED.
A sense of place
Where team loyalty used to be more embedded in geography, in today’s world of new looks and shifting allegiances, it’s all up for grabs. Those in the market for football fashion are as likely to be led to club merchandise by aesthetic trends and star players as they are by where they are from.
When Kylian Mbappé moved from PSG to Real Madrid, he took a few million of his Instagram followers with him, according to L’Equipe. And prolific social posting of people in their prized jerseys has helped open up enjoyment of football fashion devoid of team allegiances or even being a fan of the sport. Major clubs need ‘glocalised’ marketing — they need to engage audiences globally to help them feel part of something, while also speaking from a geographical place.
Apparel design allows football clubs to make broad connections based on place. NIGO, Kenzo’s artistic director, designed Japan’s football team jerseys for the 2022 World Cup (below), channelling the traditional culture and craftsmanship of Japan and the colours of cherry blossom, appealing to anyone in the world who loves football and Japanese style.
Clearly, a sense of place is important. And so are the spaces where people interact with the clothes. The stadium is the ultimate community hub, where the heritage/commerce offer has traditionally been split into museum and official store, along with the stalls lining the approach. Beyond that, more big clubs are opening stores internationally. In 2023, Paris Saint-Germain opened its first club store in London, following openings in Doha, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul, Miami and Las Vegas.
The Business of Fashion recently reported that men’s retail is booming in Manhattan, with young people eager for in-person shopping, social media marketing feeling stale, and streetwear brands looking to appeal to consumers looking for something new. And a 2023 Deloitte report found that Italy’s Serie A fans were looking for ‘more opportunities to connect with the club and team within a physical spatial context’, as well as digitally. People want to experience the club and touch and try on the collection in real life.
Culturally connected retail spaces
If the football x fashion collections are reflecting culture in more authentic ways, then football clubs’ physical spaces need to do the same. Retail design can also thrive on cultural connection and social activity, with inspired spaces that are pure expressions of brand. For example, at Brinkworth, we worked with British cycling brand Rapha to create social ‘Clubhouses’ for their stores across the world, balancing a workshop functionality with retail space, café and social club to epitomise the core cultural values of the brand.
Big football clubs have an opportunity to create real physical spaces where they can express their identity, style and heritage with as much cultural literacy and creative excellence as they expect from their fashion collaborations. Considered, authentic retail design can be the purest expression of a club’s brand and character.
It can elevate and make the most of those valuable moments when a fan has made the journey to meet the club in real life, delivering memories and sharable experiences — something solid to feel allegiance with.
Featured image: Fachry Zella Devandra / Unsplash
