With streetwear and football so intwined and more football clubs seeing the value in lifestyle and fashion collaborations we're taking a look at what the new decade could bring in terms of the next chapter of premium link ups. We're closing the curtain on a decade of a style on the football scene, a decade which has laid foundations, broken down barriers and opened up minds and opportunities.
The football x fashion crossover has burst into a valuable and much hyped market over the past few years, and never has football and football clubs been so focused on brand image and streetwear culture. Collaborations like PSG x Jordan and Juventus x PALACE Skateboards have not only recorded immense sales, but more importantly taken the brand image of both clubs into stylish, recognised and global circles. In short, those collaborations have made the club, for want of a better word, 'cooler'.
So where are we going with this then? Good question. Well, where clubs have had obvious success, other clubs begin to follow and take a slice of the cake themselves, so we're musing over which clubs would get involved, and which potential brand they could work with on a clothing collection or even match day kit.
Balmain x PUMA x AC Milan
When it comes to fashion Milan will always be mentioned, and that's why a high end fashion label could quite seamlessly pick up either Milan club for a kit collaboration. PUMA and Balmain have recently announced and revealed their debut lifestyle collab. The fashion label, despite being French, have a huge global store in Milan and we'd want to see a collaborative kit launched around Milan Fashion Week.
Nike x Off-White x Inter Milan
Sticking in Milan and we're looking at Off-White and Nike's collaborative history to benefit Inter Milan. Off-White is Milan based, NikeLab have already toyed with Inter 'Made in Italy' collections and Off-White had a huge impact on football with their Virgil Abloh Mercurials. Makes sense, right?
adidas Spezial x Man United
The Spezial label as part of the adidas family is a legendary Lancashire brand. Okay, it might be more suited to Blackburn, or at least Gary Aspden might prefer that, but a collaborative Manchester United kit to celebrate adidas' rich history with the club would absolutely fly off the shelves. That Spezial logo on a United home shirt? Pure hype. And with adidas obviously owning the Spezial brand, you'd think it would be pretty doable.
adidas Y3 x Real Madrid
Again, Y-3 is an extension of adidas so it would be a collab that shouldn't have too many stumbling blocks, but more significantly this link-up has previous. Real Madrid wore a Yohji Yamamoto designed kit in 2014, and the famed designer also created a special edition F50 adizero boot worn by Real Madrid's Gareth Bale.
Umbro x Pretty Green x West Ham
The Double Diamond linked up with Pretty Green for a debut streetwear collection earlier this year and with West Ham being Umbro's main London club, it could be an opportunity for two proud British brands that have direct and indirect roots to football to pair up on a debut performance partnership.
Kappa Kontrol x Monaco
This would be the natural next step in the Kappa lifestyle trend in kits. Kappa have already absolutely nailed it with all three Monaco kits this season. All three designs take on a retro yet modernised vibe and the Kappa Kontrol arm can only enhance this already delicious partnership, as it has done when it has blessed football before. Another easy one to make happen, you'd imagine.
Nike x Commes Des Garcons x PSG
The Commes Des Garcons Headquarters is in France. Just saying. Paris-CDG is the code for the main airport in the French capital. Not to mention Commes Des Garcons being the roped into custom jersey culture and rule-breaking football shirts by Les Vetements de Football. An alternative, more new-generation approach to the Jordan collab.
adidas x Patta x Ajax
The Dutch streetwear label have had successful collaborations with adidas, Nike and Umbro in the past, and they've released numerous wavy football jersey designs that have stirred up huge hype in the growing streetwear x football market. Situated in the very heart of Amsterdam, and having seen the success of Palace's involvement with Juventus, you can bet they've already wondered what an Ajax collab would look like.
Gosha Rubchinskiy x adidas x Russia
Gosha had a huge footballing presence with adidas around the 2018 World Cup so it's a proven collaborative success, and another link up could provide the first ever streetwear national team kit. That would be some way to throw some positive news at Russian sports right now... not that sort of positive...
Nike x Stone Island x Chelsea
Risky one this. Obviously Nike are open to Stone Island's involvement because they've recently collabed with the fashion label on their Golf line. Stone Island already has a strong connection in football and terrace culture, but obviously not for all the right reasons in the past. Influential streetwear personalities such as Drake have brought SI into streetwear with more credit than your hooligans of yesteryear, meaning the brand has a slightly refreshed image in football, still with a natural link, more so than with golf. The Chelsea link-up? Well you can carefully embrace that throwback link to the not-so-good old days if done correctly.
Any others we might have missed that could work? 2020 is set to be a big one...
