Putting the football shirt proudly back in its place, Patta have released their second range of inspired jerseys as part of an ongoing collaboration with Umbro featuring heroic Ajax goalkeeper Stanley Menzo.
The archive of Ajax shirts is blessed with a hefty dose of flair and by dipping into the Umbro archives, Patta have been able to offer the brand a new opportunity to express themselves and also party in a place where football meets streetwear. The collection comprises of two shirts which see shirts from '90-91' reworked and rebranded to contain Patta lock ups to replace the Ajax badge as well as famous Phillips sponsor.
If there's one thing you can rely on its that with strength in their subtlety, Patta can always tell a story well. Staying true to form with this instalment they went back to a golden era for Ajax and enlisted heroic goalkeeper Stanley Menzo as the model for the collection.
Explaining his connection to the collection, Menzo went into detail as part of an interview with Patta, “I made my pro debut in a grey & yellow Le Coq Sportif kit, but played in Umbro for the longest time, some time after Kappa. I can’t recall what year that was exactly, but I do remember they came up with typical English goalie shirts. The English goalies in that time would always wear a green jersey with shorts in their teams colors and the same socks as their teammates, I really found that eye-offending. I felt it just didn’t match. The shirt would always be some boring hue of blue or green and I hated that.”
“Appearance is one of the most important aspects when you perform. As a football player you’re basically an artist, and I want to look good while performing. It doesn’t have to twinkle, it doesn’t have to glisten, it doesn’t have to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be a big brandname, but it has to look good and fit your personality. I’ve always found this most important, even in my days as football amateur. I even played in an Uhlsport jersey with the logo of our sponsor Kappa sewn on for one season, just because I hated the ones they had for me. Colour, especially with my dark skin, is very important.”
“So when the time came to play in Umbro, licensee Wil Langenberg was there and I just told him “I don’t like what’s available at the moment, can I get a kit that I’m more comfortable in? Something that fits better to me?” And that is how this type of jersey came to be. I was very outspoken about my desire to look good on the pitch and Johan (Cruijff) agreed. So we developed these shirts with Wil & Len Langenberg. I don’t want to fully claim them but I am definitely responsible for them and I was the first with these type of shirts. They come from a very tumultuous time, it was around the infamous *rod incident and they bring back memories of a beautiful time with Ajax.”
The Patta x Umbro Football Jersey 2018 Collection will be available in store at Patta Amsterdam and London on Saturday, March 17 and online from Monday, March 19th. Expect them to fly, just like Menzo would.
