In an exclusive fashion store on Manhattan's Lower East Side, among preppy Jil Sander jumpers, worn hoodies with provocative prints for $1,600 and an entire room dedicated to Maison Margiela, hang a dozen colorful blouses. They don't quite fit in. Just like in the Instagram feed, they scream loudly for attention in the stripped down fashion store.
It is about designer Conner Ives' immensely popular "The Reconstituted Shirred Football Top", old football shirts converted into feminine blouses. They each bear the emblems and colors of a sports club, but are otherwise almost unrecognizable in their new designs: close-fitting with smocked fabric and almost doll-like cuteness.
The classic football jersey has been a garment among others in the everyday wardrobe for the past decade, at least for fans, men and children. But it has also fit into the so-called bloke-core trend over a pair of ill-fitting jeans or jorts (short for denim shorts, model knee-length). The style has dominated street fashion ever since the second-hand market moved into apps and Billie Eilish broke through with her androgynous stage attire.
But it is also a garment that is found in abundance. Before each season, the clubs manufacture new kits in addition to selling commemorative shirts and away kits. Added to that is the large unofficial square market.
When a player changes clubs, the shirt quickly becomes out of date. According to Uefa, around 60 percent of football clubs' kits are destroyed every year, and 20 million shirts linked to this year's World Cup are estimated to have ended up in the trash after the tournament ended.
British-born Conner Ives saw the abundance as a call to create something modern for a new target group. His SS24 collection "Late Capitalism" featured remade and reused sweaters that immediately became a hit in the fashion world. Since then, the blouses, each of which is handmade and unique, have been sold in several of the world's most exclusive clothing stores.
Variants of redesigned football shirts are now seen everywhere – not least at smaller brands whose clientele can be found on social media or on online shopping sites such as Depop. For the slightly more daring, there are, for example, LA duo Daria y Maria's extremely short dresses. Here, the classically masculine functional garment meets a kind of hyperfemininity in an innovative idea of what a dress can be. An old pink Inter Miami jersey, for example, has been decorated with sparkling stones and given four layers of ruffles in a skirt that barely has time to start before it ends. During the WC, American pop star Bebe Rexha asked Daria y Maria for a custom-made top for her stage outfit. Rexha jumped on the Norwegian Viking bandwagon and entered both the stage and Instagram wearing Norway's national team shirt as a corset top - of course with the shooting king Haaland's name on the back.
At the last fashion week in Madrid, another variation was seen on the catwalk. The Spanish designer Celia B, whose signature is maximalism and color, together with the Swiss Diana Rikasari, showed their redesigned soccer jerseys; midriff-baring and asymmetrical, with frills and colorful details such as flowers, lace, billowing fringes and gauzy tulle. The collection has 13 hand-sewn garments and, according to the duo, will "celebrate colour, football and other chances". It breathes more of a young cultural aunt than a sly football supporter - and questions what a football shirt really expresses.
The football shirt has always carried a strong signaling value. Its story tells of identity and culture, hope and despair. The shirt celebrates a limitless world but also clearly signals a native and sometimes violent rivalry. The football journalist Erik Niva, who has a personal collection of over 4,000 football shirts, says in an interview with SVT that "the shirts carry a story about their football environment. Their challenges, their living conditions and all the people who live and are affected by this".
London designer Hattie Crowther is on the same page in her passion for transforming discarded sportswear into garments and accessories. Her latest project Soft Armor is a mix of hat, scarf and cap - made from jerseys from both Manchester City and PSG to more obscure national team garments from all over the world.
"For me, soccer is a world where you can explore culture, stories, community and belonging. The soccer jersey is so much more than just aesthetics," she explains in an interview with the web magazine Hypebeast.
The Football Gal also wanted to explore identity creation. In her studio, Japan's national team jersey has been given sakura-inspired embroidery that winds across the chest, Mexico's is adorned in a subtle cinco de mayo theme, and a white Bayern Munich t-shirt bears a gourd-like floral pattern.
On her website, she explains her vision: "What attracted me to football shirts was how they convey a sense of identity - which is reinforced when you see a group of fans wearing the same kit. By tailoring and embellishing the shirts, I wanted to show how people even within the group have their own identity and individuality".
