The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Wearing more than a nation’s heart on sleeve
Football kits are not mere differentiators between two teams but a unifier that can set the mood of a country even before play begins
“NOBODY WANTS to have that!”. It has been a popular response in Germany for their away kit at a home Euros. Dropping the old black or green, this one blends hazy purple with pink. “Barbie-pink? That’s not a German jersey.” Such was the uproar against it that German football and Adidas partnered together in a satirical advert to stand their ground: “Yes it is.” In England, the furore has been over a small St. George’s cross on the back of the shirt collar. Usually stitched in traditional red and white colors, it’s been given a blue, purple and red update. UK Opposition party leader Keir Starmer rued, “It’s a big unifier. I’m not even sure they can explain why they needed to change it”.
The big international football summer is here, and with it are its many colors. No longer are football kits mere differentiators between two teams. “They are totems,” Neal Heard, a football shirt expert, consultant and exhibition curator, tells The Indian Express.
“If you then put them on the nationhood, they become sacrosanct because you're saying this is exactly who we are. This is the national brand. The brands who are making these have a tough job because if anywhere football fans are more conservative, it’s the national team,” Heard says.
Staring at the catalog for the upcoming European Championships, the author of ‘The Football Shirts Book - A Connoisseurs Guide’ is largely impressed. “Not all are amazing but there's enough good ones,” Heard concedes before picking his favorites. “Belgium away, based on the Tintin story, is a really cool one. France — hands down, the best footballing nation in kits — home and away are probably my favorites. Even Germany away is quite nice. As is England away. Actually, I adore that one.”
Looks a bit like the French home kit, doesn’t it? “It does. Same sort of color. They’re referencing a track suit, funnily enough, an iconic one from ’66-70.”
Speaking over a video call from Wales, Heard handpicks two jerseys — Germany and Holland from 1988 Euros. “Both these jerseys are quite bold even though they're paying homage to the tradition,” says Heard.
A sneaker-like market
£1000. That’s how much a replica of the Dutch kit costs currently. “Not match worn, just the replica,” he presses. “If it was match worn, you'll be talking millions.”
Classic Football Shirts, the biggest players in the game were recently offered private equity of £38 million. “Not to buy the brand, just to actually come and take it to the next level.”
Heard tracks the beginning of the obsession back to the 1970s with an increase in the number of traveling fans in the two hotbeds of world football — Europe and South America. “In the 70s, teams were traveling in Europe or even with the Intercontinental World Cup, which was a really exotic thing. Once the fans started going to another place, they began swapping kits with one another.” A popular culture that extends to the players.
Our expert believes a significant credit of the new appropriation of football shirts goes tofootballbackwaters—india,australia,korea, and definitely America. “They are the drivers ofthisfashionthing.countrieswhodon’thave a 150-year-old backlog of knowing everything about the sport. People in America don’t have thatsortofloyaltyassociatedwiththekits.that appropriation of football shirts essentially drove them to being a fashion item.”
Kits that stand out
Is it only about those that are worn by winners? “The ones which are kind of the apex tick both boxes — an amazing kit coupled with team success. Holland won the Euros in that amazing shirt in ’88.”
But then there’s Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup. A team who were knocked out of the group stage but a kit that had the consensus of being “the best” at the tournament. Similarly, Mexico. Heardbelievesthatevenwinningamajortrophysometimesmaynotensurethatakit goes down well in history. “Thinking back to when Argentina won the World Cup. They obviously wore the blue and white — because that'swhattheydowear—butwasitanamazing shirt? Will I remember it? I won't. Using Maradona as a reference and when Argentina wonthatworldcup(1986)andwhentheyhad that massive le coq sportif logo, I think everybody would remember that jersey.”
Need for fresh eye
The story goes that when Horst Dassler, son of the German company’s founder Adi Dassler, was designing the Germany and Holland kits, rather than working with professionals in their labs, he went to a local art college in search of a new designer. “He got an outsider, someone who looked at things with fresh eyes. And that’s how they came out with those amazing kits.”
Heard believes it is no coincidence that two of the most iconic football kits were designed by a woman. “It's no accident that the Women's World Cup had vastly better kits. Because it was coming from the women's aesthetic, a little bit more freer and fashion led design. I wish they could bring some of that thinking for the men's game,” he says.