For years, we have been thinking about what a football shirt is, what characteristics it has and what it must at least have in order to be considered as such. What are the limits and horizons of an item of clothing that has definitely transcended its practical use and become as artistic an object as possible? After more than a century in which two teams, eleven players were separated from eleven other players on the basis of their color, we now have to accept that the football shirt is no longer that, or at least not only that. As the surrealists imagined, we discover the infinite hidden possibilities of an object when we strip it of its practical nature. Without comparing Real Madrid’s away jersey to Duchamp’s urinal, we find ourselves in a moment of great freedom in terms of football esthetics – a nonsense, considering how much it is simultaneously linked to nostalgia and tradition. But it is precisely this rare encounter between a world so entrenched and persecuted, a microcosm with rules, principles and references so defined and shared, and a liberating and iconoclastic creative drive from outside that creates fertile ground for innovation.
I realize this is a very long and unresolved turn to talk about a football-inspired jersey that Acne Studios has just unveiled on its website and is already generating a lot of conversation. Jonny Johansson, the co-founder of Acne Studios, has christened it much more succinctly than I Logo Long Sleeve Shirt, but the football inspiration is apparent at first glance. The long sleeves that end with elastic cuffs, the template reminiscent of the one used by Nike in recent seasons with a half circle under the shoulders, the elastic polo-style collar, the vertical stripes that run the length of the shirt, but above all the two eye-catching emblems on either side of the chest, the Acne Studios lettering in the middle and again the number 13 in small print underneath. This is obviously a football shirt. Or at least it fits in perfectly with the many jerseys produced by fashion brands that are directly inspired by the football esthetic. The materials, the finish, the details and the extravagance justify the retail price of the fashion brand – in this case we are in the region of 500 euros – more than double that of another jersey designed by a fashion designer for a club and worn by the players on the pitch. It is the fourth Real Madrid jersey, created in collaboration between adidas and Yohji Yamamoto, and sells for 180 euros. But the Acne Studios jersey represents the other side of the football and fashion coin that so many brands have lit up to accredit themselves to an audience increasingly attentive to the luxury version of sportswear. And the versatility of the garment lends itself to a wide variety of interpretations based on the overall mood of the brand.
Acne Studios’ jersey, for example, goes pink, softening a garment designed for a male audience (but wasn’t last year’s best-selling jersey, Inter Miami’s 10 jersey, also pink?). The extra-large logos are reminiscent of the logos adidas makes for national teams like France and Belgium, while the appliqués and prints are even more Scandi-style. At Balenciaga, on the other hand, the shirt is rooted in the Slavic/rave tradition of the early 00s, with monochrome acetate overshirts and printed logos. At Kid Super, it’s dedicated to Ronaldinho, with colorful patterns and prints straight out of Colm Dillane’s imagination, while Botter has made it even more evening-appropriate, with a slouchy V-neck that simulates a double-breasted shirt. Just to talk about the latest from Fashion Week, but from here on in, with the arrival of spring, luxury brand stores will once again be flooded with their respective interpretations of the game jerseys.
And that brings us back to where we started, namely trying to decide whether it really is a footballer shirt or, as Acne Studios has described it on its website, a simple logo long-sleeved shirt. Just as the polo left the tennis courts to enter every man’s closet, evolving from an innovative garment for athletes to the casual answer to the men’s shirt, a century later the football shirt will follow the same path. Now we just need to find a way to define these achievements in such a way that jersey designs enter the open creativity of lifestyle and at a luxury brand price, freeing themselves from their practical nature associated with sportswear. In fact, it is no longer about imitating the sport, but a new sensibility where the direct reference has been transcended and the clothing thrives on its own unique creativity aimed at the brand’s audience rather than that of a football team. When fashion brands get to this degree of separation, the football aesthetic and inspiration will stop being a trend and can finally become a classic.