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Off-Pitch Style - How Players and Managers Build Personal Brands

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  Those who represent the footballing industry are typically remarked by their playing style, charismatic personas and moments of inspiration. Icons of the game are always in the public eye, shaping our conscious and subconscious perceptions. Yet, we often overlook how a players or managers personal style can reveal insights into their personality and own brand identity. Managers fashion is vastly contrasting topic, usually seen through 3 constants, thus being the tracksuit, the suit and smart casual attire. Each look brings varying connotations that can give us an indication of a mangers psychological state. Starting by looking at arguably the most successful and influential manger the world has seen in Pep Guardiola. He has been renowned for mixing smart casual with designer wear often partnering with premium brands such as Stone Island, this portrays himself as confident and high statured thanks to the high-end association the style of the brand holds. He dares to be differe...
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The revival of 'old school' football fashion

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  Football kits golden eras are hailed as the 1980s through to the early 2000s, this can be attributed to not only their creative designs but their fit compositions. Football kits in modern times are tight and ergonomically friendly to ensure maximum comfort for players, however the previous era now regarded as ‘retro’ were renowned for their oversized fits, being baggy in nature and more flattering to be worn as casual attire. But what has fuelled these retro kits revival back into the current streetwear market? Well it can be accredited to the theory of ‘nostalgia pendulum’ were what was old can take 20-30 year to go full circle and become new again in the eyes of the fashion world (Flinn, 2019), this would explain why it not only is football kits making their revival but other fashion brands like Stone Island & Levis are rereleasing their 80s and 90s ranges back onto their product line as demand is prominent for such designs. Retro Footballing tops reinstalment can be al...
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The rise of a new market- The underworld of fake football attire

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  In 2005 football tops could have been bought for £30-£40 making wearing your clubs attire relatively affordable, however Fast forwarding to 2024 we should be expecting to see this matched with inflation at around £50-£60, yet the worlds biggest clubs in the premier league have chose to go above and beyond this figure abusing their global status and reach capabilities by monetizing their increasing fans loyalty.  An ‘authentic’ Manchester United top equates in the region of £110 creating an elitist culture in football merchandise, it has outpriced the working-class footballing roots of which the sport we love was built on. Nonetheless we still no matter where we go will see members of the public wearing their teams’ colours in the form of the latest strips and although many have accepted the inflated prices lots have found cheaper alternatives thanks to the growing underworld of ‘fake’ branded goods being sold online.  Previously if you wanted fake attire Turkey was a co...
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The Evolution of Football Kit Design: From Function to Fashion

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  The one constant that has survived in an ever changing and dynamic footballing world are the need for strips players wear to represent their clubs in matches. The birth of the game focused on strips purely for functionality neglecting any pursuit on comfort, regarded more so as ‘uniforms’ kits were typically heavier in design with durable thick material to withstand tough playing conditions, shaded in a visible colour to allow differentiation between teams was the only way of revealing a club’s identity.    Fast forwarding to the 1980s football strips became a haven for marketers, Eintracht Braunschweig became the first ever club in 1973 to accept sponsorship money thanks to the proposal of Alcohol giant Jägermeister to have their logo on the German club’s strip, the visionary tactic was strategized after realising the exposure of an engaged audience at games provided them with a platform to connect with alcohol fuelled fans.  The 90s have been hailed as the ‘golde...
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Footballers as Fashion Icons: How Athletes Influence Streetwear

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Publicity in football has become ever growing in the last decade thanks to the rise in social media usage creating a bridge between fans and their favourite players providing off the pitch insights into the lives of the footballers. Social media usage has been fully subjective to the players themselves although the younger footballing generation are feeling an increasing the desire to expose their private lives away from the pitch, frequently posting selfies allowing for their attire to flourish on behalf of their personalities.  Instagram specifically has facilitated as a platform for the easily influenced to be inspired by the outfits posted by footballers, Stars like Hector Bellerin (Formally of Arsenal) & Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) have been hailed as the fashion icons of the English premier league by none other than GQ magazine in 2022, but what does this really mean for the bigger picture of streetwear? Due to their large social media following, these pros offer a ...
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