When you think of your first football kit as a kid, it was more than likely an Umbro jersey.
Umbro has been the backbone of football fashion for 100 years and to celebrate the centenary, the brand is redefining sportswear with its latest collection.
Over the years, the Manchester-born brand has delivered collaborations with major names in fashion including Paul Smith, Supreme, Virgil Abloh’s Off-White, Vetements, Aries, and Palace, with the centenary range leaning into Umbro's fashion-forward mission.
Last week in London, Umbro hosted the Umbro 100: Sportswear X Fashion exhibit curated by the Westminster Menswear Archive, featuring over 100 Umbro garments, showcasing not only its heritage but how the brand has shaped football fashion over the years.
“It’s about the growth of football as a working-class sport in the urban environment," said Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design at the University of Westminster.
"Its [football's] popularity comes at the same time Umbro starts — Wembley stadium had just been built the year before, in 1923, the main road in Manchester city had just been completed.”
Since its launch in 1924, Umbro's rich design history has outfitted some of the biggest football teams in the world, from England's 1966 World Cup-winning team to the iconic Brazil teams of the '90s and many more.
While nowadays high fashion and sports collide regularly, in 2002 Umbro created a groundbreaking kit with designer Paul Smith — the first of its kind — bringing to life England's 2002 World Cup kit.
With football fashion reaching new heights in recent years, the new Umbro collection brings its vintage looks to modern times, blurring the lines between sport and fashion, this time on a larger scale.
Taking inspiration from the football kits of the '70s and '80s, Umbro's new centenary range honours its hometown of Manchester's culture, heritage and vibrancy, creating some fresh looks, along with collaborations with new designers, that will be must-cop this year.
For football fans in Australia, the exclusive Umbro Centenary collection will be available in selected football specialty stores, with the full collection available at Umbro.au from May 1st.