My top 5 football shirts and why standing out on the pitch matters to your brand

As the UEFA European Football Championship or Euros kicks off, with my beloved Scotland getting a sound thrashing from the hosts Germany, I felt a few thoughts on the subject of football branding, and specifically football kits would be a good topic to explore. Who over the years has looked the sharpest and most memorable on the pitch? And how might we design even more striking apparel for our future championship trophy winners?

If brand identity is, metaphorically, the clothes you wear as an organisation, club, or indeed national team, then some thoughts on the design of the most inspirational football kits, and what they might look like in the future, feels like a good conversation to have while the Euros are in play.

Brand, in all of its different guises, is ultimately about creating a sense of belonging to something, and a way to remain front of mind to your market. Brand is a powerful tool that drives preference, loyalty, advocacy, and brand identity in a way to stand out and remain memorable. It fosters a sense of community and team, something core to playing in and following a football team.

The best brand identity systems amplify the simple truths of who an organisation, or team, is and communicate its essence and purpose. They take the core attributes of an organisation and make them visually (and verbally) iconic.

So, to football shirts, who’s winning in this game? I have a few that hit the back of the net for me both at club and national level, and not just for the Euros. I’m not including pictures in this so happy Googling to find the beautiful references I’m describing!

I need to start by going back in time to 1983 and the Dandy Dons (Aberdeen FC) who as a small team from the North of Scotland, lead by a young ambitious manager called Alex Ferguson, won the Cup Winners Cup, the forerunner of the UEFA Champions League, against Real Madrid. Almost unimaginable now right? I was 11. Sitting on the sofa with my brother and cousins watching the game decked out in an iconic Aberdeen red Adidas tracksuit. White tri-stripe on the arms and legs. Think ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ and you’re spot on. The team kit was beautiful, red all over, jersey, shorts, socks, done. Just a subtle white pinstripe on the top. No contrasting collars or trims, just a blaze of scarlet and a 2-1 victory in extra time.

Brand rule number 1: Colour is your strongest visual asset. Keep it simple and use it with confidence.

The legendary designer Peter Saville created one of my favourite England shirts. Saville who was famous for designing ‘Factory Records’ album covers for the likes of Joy Division, New Order, Pulp, and Suede created a repeating embroidered St. Georges’ cross pattern across the back and shoulders of an Umbro shirt. Each cross was a different colour, reflecting the diversity of England’s population, and the shirt design itself was inspired by traditional English tailoring. Apparently it has been one of the worst selling England shirts ever, but for me personally, it’s one of the best.

Branding rule number 2: Embrace your heritage and provenance, but don’t become a nostalgic pastiche. Bring inspiration from your past and culture and use it in a thoroughly modern way.

Dubbed the shirt that broke the internet because everyone wanted one, the Nigeria 2018 home shirt was amazing. Daring and dazzling it looked different to what most of the other teams were doing. Total stand out. Acid green on white chevrons across the chest and black on white arrow chevrons on the sleeves. Nigeria’s national team kits have a history of reflecting their national dress, which also is rich with pattern, edgy geometric shapes, and contrasting colours. Add in the fact that the goalie shirt was a vivid purple for maximum colour clash this team photo was a real eye popper for sure!

Branding rule number 3: Dare to be different and stand out from the crowd. Especially if it’s a true reflection of your character. Nothing is worse than ‘same, same’ and Nigeria absolutely cut their own style on the pitch.

The 2020 Japanese national team shirt was indeed a banger. Five different shades of blue created a camo inspired pattern that felt edgy, eclectic, and cool. Part Japanese cyberpunk part hipster chic, it looked like it would be as comfortable in a nightclub as it did on the pitch. Breaking away from more expected fabric design the Japanese team also produced multiple versions and collaborations which took this street fashion aesthetic further. Collaborations with skate brand Stüssy, designs featuring the ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ and Manga inspired cartoon strips all helped create a stream of collectable and limited edition shirts.

Branding rule number 4: In a world of homogenised design, breaking the mould is always good. Mixing totally unexpected influences or counterculture to infuse what you do brings new vibrancy to any brand. Creating one-offs and limited editions drives value and collectability, and indeed a stronger sense of a unique identity.

The star player, and shirt, of the winning English women’s 2022 Euros squad was the goalkeeper Mary Earps, sporting a bright diagonal striped Nike shirt. A legendary performance by the “Lionesses” secured the tournament win for England against Germany at Wembley in a heady summer of football that gripped the nation. She wore a fluorescent high visibility green on green and pink on pink version of the jersey throughout the competition. The shirt became almost as famous as the “keeper” after Nike wouldn’t make the design available to thousands of adoring fans. Only after a 170,000 signature change.org petition did they release it in limited numbers.

Brand rule number 5: An iconic design will be memorable for years to come, and in some ways as memorable as the event itself. The strongest experiences we have form our memories and stay with us for years. From a brand perspective this is critical to keep a company, organisation, or team salient. Can you remember any other specific goalies’ jumpers? I can’t really. . . . The performance and the outfit are inseparable in my mind, ingrained in how I remember that summer.

Some other honourable mentions I feel should be on the list… Manchester City’s 3rd kit from the 2010/11 season. Pure white shirt with a diagonal black and red slash. Looking like a 1920s athletics team it had style and panache. The USA’s 1994 national team jersey with a super graphic stars and stripes design on a speckled pointillism blue, with contracting burgundy red shorts. Any of the multiple tops from Venezia for pure Italian swagger, the new Stella McCartney Arsenal strip for pushing the animal print to the front, and the colour combinations of dusty pink and moss green on the Nigo designed 2022 Japan world cup collection.

As a designer, the question is always what’s next and how might we work to keep this evolving? Thinking beyond the expected is what keeps the humble football shirt fresh. For future football fixtures perhaps we might start to explore new textile patterns through data or AI? Maybe shirts that react to the game play or emotion within the team and stadium? Could the team kit and the wider stadium branding be digitally connected? And of course, how might the brands that sponsor the teams (certainly at a club level) feel more integral to the overall design aesthetic of a team strip?

So a good kit matters. We all want to belong to a group, a culture, or a squad, and showing up in our team’s colours builds an emotional connection that runs deep in our subconscious. Comments welcome, what’s your favourite football shirt and why?

Enjoy the competition, the kit, and the branding, as it unfolds. Hector Pottie, Head of Creative and Creative Director at Moving Brands