‘Arsenal kits have taken on a cult status’: The story of how football shirts come to life
The countless kit launches appear to be over for another year, but the process is already under way to produce next season’s football shirts – and when those are released, manufacturers will already be thinking about the next design in what is a never-ending, high-pressure, but lucrative industry.
Manchester United signed a 10-year, £750m deal with Adidas in 2015, while Nike and Paris Saint-Germain have a partnership running until 2032 worth a reported €80m (£69m) per year for the French club.
Recent transfers have boosted the profile of both clubs, who are already deemed among Europe’s elite, with Cristiano Ronaldo returning to United and fellow superstar Lionel Messi signing for PSG inevitably leading to a huge amount of discussion about football shirt sales.
Fanatics, United’s official retail partner, revealed that Ronaldo’s No 7 replica jersey needed just four hours to break the single-day sales record on a piece of sports merchandise outside North America.
Meanwhile, research from LoveTheSales claimed Ronaldo shirt sales totaled £187m globally before he had even kicked a ball, with United earning £13.1m of that amount, while Messi’s shirt sales were £103.8m to earn PSG £7.3m.
While supporters queue round the block for kits, or more commonly add them to their online basket, the brains at manufacturing companies are already conjuring up next season’s jerseys, hoping to charm them all over again.
It is a labour of love, albeit one with the pressure of knowing that the end product will be on display the world over.
From design to kit launch – a 20-month process
“Each season, we start completely fresh,” Andrew Dolan, a product manager at Adidas who specialises in football apparel, tells i.
“We work from a blank canvas that we then fill with ideas and inspiration, whether that’s from the clubs we work with, the city’s they’re in, or through modern culture, we really look everywhere for that spark that can give us an idea.
“We of course try to include the clubs as much as possible, to make sure we remain authentic to their DNA, while not offending the loyal fan bases, but we also have to try and push football kits to the future, rather than always looking back for inspiration.
“Typically, the process takes around 20 months from start to finish, with the concept phase, sampling and testing, sharing ranges with our global markets, and then on to mass production.
The design-making process for football shirts (Credit: Adidas)It is a 20-month process to create a football kit (Credit: Adidas)
“It’s a long process; from initial idea to the final kit on pitch and making sure it’s available to buy all over the world, but also a massively rewarding one.”
The pressure has increased in the age of social media, with the consumer ready to rate or slate each kit which comes off the production line.
“Pressure is obviously a part of the job,” Dolan adds. “Everyone who works in this industry knows exactly how important and relevant the work they do is to the fan bases of the clubs they work on.
“This is true not just now, but in 20, 30 years’ time, when people will still be talking about the kits we create today. That also means it can be a massive advantage in having an element of ignorance. Not ignorant to a club or it’s fan base, but to the grandeur of it all.
“The best marketeers and designers aren’t the ones thinking about how many jerseys they will sell or what people will be saying in the futures, but the ones trying to make a product that has a purpose and meaning behind it. That, ultimately, is what will make what we create today, still relevant 30 years from now.”
On Ajax’s popular third kit, Dolan says: “The key to good kits is authentic story-telling. Any club can partner up with Bob Marley, but the reason the Ajax collab works so well is the authenticity this partner already had to the club [Ajax fans sing Marley’s “Three Little Birds” before kick-off every week].
Ajax’s third kit received positive reviews (Credit: Adidas)
“We’ve seen so much crossover in recent seasons of football and culture, and I think this will only continue. We’ll always try to find authentic local stories to tell, with each of our clubs, to a global audience. The key is to remain grounded and to always remember who we’re creating for.”
‘Arsenal kits have taken on a cult status’
Arsenal have teamed up with Adidas since 2019, 25 years after their previous partnership ended.
The club arguably create the greatest fanfare with regards to their kit launches, predominantly because their designs have gone against the grain and focused on the fact football kits can also be fashionable.
Having club legend Ian Wright on board helps, so too the profile of current players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and there is a seemingly natural buzz among the fanbase when it comes to their kit launches.
Dolan says: “If we talk about clubs specifically and me being the Adidas marketing counterpart for Arsenal, then it’s been absolutely amazing to see the reaction to this season’s kits.
“So far, they seem to have taken on somewhat of a cult status, which is such an honour, but honestly not something I really could have foreseen happening.
“Again, I think it’s down to the story-telling behind each design. On the home kit we wanted to bring in the most modern of Adidas silhouettes and designs, using the seasonal collar and combining it with inspiration from the 1998 design, introducing more “Collegiate Navy” details than we’ve had so far with the partnership.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang models Arsenal’s third kit (Photo: Arsenal)
“On the away kit, we knew we wanted to have a yellow base design, but rather than linking to a particular kit design from the past, we wanted to link to a club icon, the 1971 double-winning side, with the use of the cannon crest.
“For the third kit, perhaps the most disruptive Arsenal kit this season, that really seems to have gone down well with the fan base. We know 90s football kits were experiencing a renaissance with modern football fans now. This era also coincides with some iconic Adidas designs from that time, so combining the two was a no brainer.”
Football shirts: The process
Step 1: Design and concept
Marketeers and designers are in constant dialogue with clubs regarding the following season’s new set of kits, while fan groups and consumers are also consulted during the design and concept phase.
“If we can find an impactful message and purpose to each kit, then we will, but we also look to modern trends to keep designs fresh and relevant to modern fans,” Dolan says.
“A major focus in general is our technology concepts, like Heat Ready and our 100 per cent recycled polyester base materials. These aren’t only trends in the industry, but important goals that Adidas has committed to achieving across the company in our long-term strategy, to being a 100 per cent sustainable sports brand.”
Some of the designers behind Adidas’ jerseys (Photo: Adidas)The Man Utd third kit for 2020-21 (Credit: Adidas)Adidas say there is a constant back and forth with clubs when discussing kits deigns (Photo: Adidas)The early stages of the kit-making process (Photo: Adidas)
Step 2: Manufacturing and production
A final design is signed off between 10 to 12 months before a kit is launched, meaning a select few will know how a club will shape up next season as the previous season is getting under way, and almost certainly by Christmas.
Dolan adds: “Production then starts three to four months later, once all the final checks and testing has been completed. Factories also need to place orders for materials and plan their production capacities, mostly in Asia. We then have a further three to four months of shipping products all over the world.
“There’s so much to the process that needs to happen after the initial design phase and sign-offs from the clubs are complete that people are maybe not aware of. This is also why when some jerseys sell out quickly, it can take three to four months for them to come back in stock.”
In September, Ajax confirmed their sell-out third kit would be not back in stock until January.
Step 3: The kit launch
When ready to be unveiled to the world, every kit launch needs its time in the sun. That means a timely slot where clubs can reveal the kit on social media in the hope that it will start trending for all the right reasons.
That is not always the case, but what is clear is that each launch comes with a story – and that also requires time.
“Of course, not just the clubs but we at Adidas want to give each and every club the moment they deserve,” says Dolan.
“The strategy for each season is a little different; for example, there might be a particular story on home or away that we want to tell in May or June, meaning that that particular team’s kit needs to launch then.
“Or we might have a shared concept across third jerseys, like this season’s kits for Arsenal, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Real Madrid, which all launched in August/September this year.
“There are numerous factors to consider when deciding launch dates, but we always try to give each club a specific moment where they are the focus.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3kWUXRx
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