Fashion brands that have made national kits When the relationship between the two worlds reaches the pitch

A look at this year’s World Cup kit manufacturers throws up all of the usual suspects, established names within the sport who are well-versed in the production of what are essentially pieces of athletic performance equipment, although football shirts have long since attained more significance as the sport continues its expansion into wider culture. 

Aside from Iranian brand Majid, there is one other name that will be making their World Cup debut; One All Sports, who just recently signed a deal with Cameroon. Before this year, the brand had only produced motorsport gear, which has its own particular aesthetic, usually laden with motorsport-relevant sponsors and a distinctly functional appearance. They are yet to reveal Cameroon’s World Cup kits, but it will be interesting to see how they tailor their design process for a completely different sport. Portraying the national identity of a country is another new aspect of the challenge. 

Over the years there have been other pretenders to enter the domain of football shirt design from other spheres, often on the international stage. Coming into such a specific sector of apparel design which has its own traditions, norms and functionality requirements, it’s intriguing to observe how some of the following fashion brands went about meeting the brief. 

Levi’s x Mexico

Foday Dumbuya grew up in his native Sierra Leone, Cyprus, and London, where he founded Labrum London in 2015. Through his creations, the brand aims to “tell the untold story of West Africa to help bridge the gap between western and West African cultures”. Often making use of West African imagery and symbols in his pieces, the task of dressing his home nation for the 2021 Olympics challenged him to transmit the diversity of Sierra Leone through a set of athletic clothing. Taking the blue and green from the country’s flag, the result was a pair of patterns applied in various styles for various sporting disciplines. Sadly, despite an official unveiling of the Labrum London Olympic uniforms, they were never used in an official capacity, allegedly due to the brand not being registered or approved by the International Olympic Committee.

Two football kits were created, with the interlocking S (Sierra Leone) and L (Labrum) pattern confined to the sleeves of the home shirt, while the away used 16 zig zag lines - to represent the 16 tribes of Sierra Leone - encroaching from the ends of the sleeves towards the centre of the jersey, changing from blue to green and growing in thickness from left to right. The placement and angle of the pattern varied slightly from shirt to shirt, giving it a greater sense of individuality. Definitely a standout from this list and possibly the designer whose background in fashion was most visible in the end product. Eye-catching patterns are nothing new to football shirts, but their use was more meaningful here than in a lot of cases and the execution is to be commended.