VANGUARD: The Creative Soccer Community | Akaar Amin

It was 2016. Football and fashion were connected, certainly, but the relationship was not yet the all-consuming, endlessly referenced cultural force it has since become. There were brands operating in the space, but Amin did not think any of them had quite nailed it. So, while working in clothing shops and taking on free design jobs, the Amsterdam-born creative decided to join the conversation.

“There were a few brands having a go at it, but none of them were really nailing it,” he tells me. “I felt there was an opportunity to add something original to that space.”

Almost a decade later, Lack of Guidance has grown from Amin printing artwork onto wholesale blanks into a full ready-to-wear label, with collaborations alongside the likes of New Balance and Diadora, kits for Red Star FC and a visual identity that has become instantly recognisable.

Football’s influence on fashion is now so widespread that shirts, tracksuits, terrace references and old club crests have become part of the industry’s standard. Lack of Guidance, though, arrived before much of the current rush, building slowly through campaigns and collections that understood the game as a tapestry.

Amin is not especially sentimental about any of this. His relationship with nostalgia is precise rather than reverential, pairing the references everybody knows with those intended for a much smaller audience. The point is not to reproduce the past, he tells me, but to pull something out of it and make it feel alive again.

As Lack of Guidance approaches its 10th birthday, we caught up with Amin to discuss dropping out of design school, following instinct, protecting his perspective and wanting to see one of his shirts back on a football pitch.

Tell us a little about who you were before Lack of Guidance. What was your background, and what early influences shaped the way you think about design, image-making and football?

I was born and raised in Amsterdam and, as a kid, football was literally everything to me. As I got older, I began developing an interest in other things, including film, music and art. School was never really my thing, but the last time I tried my luck, I enrolled at a graphic design school in Rotterdam. I learned the basics there before dropping out yet again.

I started working in clothing stores to make ends meet. Around the same time, I founded Lack of Guidance because I needed a plan and wanted to figure out what to do with my life. I continued developing my graphic design skills, often working for free, until I eventually landed a freelance role as a designer at Fantastic Man.

When did you first realise it could become a creative language?

The main reason school was never really my thing was that I didn’t feel any sense of purpose in it. If anything, it felt like a waste of time. Football has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, so doing something within that space made sense because it felt authentic to me.

I started making designs using iconic football references and, at one point, reworked the Bayern München logo. I remember looking at my screen and thinking, “If I put this on a T-shirt, people will buy it.” Luckily, they did. I’ve been building the brand ever since, trying to take it up a level every year.

Was there a particular moment, person or reference that opened up that possibility for you?

Dirk Bikkembergs [the pioneer of "sports couture"] basically paved the way for all of us. Let that be very clear.

What did you feel was missing when you started Lack of Guidance?

Ten years ago, there were a few brands having a go at it, but none of them were really nailing it. I felt there was an opportunity to add something original to that space. Most of those brands seemed focused entirely on people who ate, slept and breathed football. Lack of Guidance is also for the heads, but our approach is much more considered and open to interpretation.

Football nostalgia is everywhere now, but Lack of Guidance has never felt like a nostalgia brand. How do you see that relationship?

I think it’s all about finding the right balance. We like to blend very iconic references with incredibly rare ones and, by doing so, speak to a wider audience. We’re targeting people who live and breathe football, but the brand is also accessible to those who aren’t necessarily real football heads. We’re very specific about the references we use.

What makes an old football reference feel relevant today? How do you know when something has enough substance to reinterpret rather than simply leaning on familiarity?

You can usually tell an old football reference is still relevant when it has stood the test of time. It’s also sometimes a matter of “fuck around and find out”.

Recently, we made a T-shirt with “God Bless Lamine Yamal” on the front and that iconic image of Messi bathing Lamine Yamal as a baby on the back. Little did we know they would end up facing each other in the World Cup final and the T-shirt would sell out because of it.

The relationship between football and fashion has changed dramatically. From your perspective, what has genuinely progressed, and what has perhaps become a little too predictable?

Ten years ago, the football space was very small. It’s safe to say that’s no longer the case, but I still think it has plenty of room to grow, partly because the United States has now entered the chat.

Now that almost every fashion brand seems interested in football, how do you keep your own perspective clear?

I’d like to believe that most people, whether consciously or unconsciously, can sense what’s real and what’s fake. Personally, I find it quite easy to tell whether a brand has entered this space because it genuinely wants to bring something to the table or because it wants to ride the football wave and make a quick buck.

How much of Lack of Guidance is an extension of your own wardrobe?

Lack of Guidance is very personal. When we’re designing a summer collection, for example, I’m literally looking at photographs of what my friends and I wear during the summer. I also take roughly 1,000 screenshots a day of anything that even slightly catches my eye. When it’s time to design, I go through them and see what stands out. We never have meetings where we say, “Other brands are making this, so let’s do it too.” I try not to get distracted by what anyone else is doing.

After almost ten years, how have you changed as a creative? When you consider the next chapter of Lack of Guidance, what still feels exciting?

It’s cool to see how Lack of Guidance has evolved over the past ten years, not only through the garments but also through the campaigns. It feels mature and sophisticated while remaining fresh and playful. The next chapter is about cementing the visual language we’ve created and becoming the best brand in the football space. I’d also love to design another proper kit. We created the Red Star FC kits a few years ago, and I think it’s time to do it again. It hits differently when you see an actual club playing in something you’ve designed.

VANGUARD: The Creative Soccer Community is SoccerBible’s ongoing celebration of the people reshaping the seams of creative soccer culture – the photographers, designers, filmmakers, stylists and thinkers redefining how the game looks, feels and lives beyond the pitch. It’s a platform for individual voices and distinct perspectives, spotlighting those building new visual languages around football while respecting what came before.