Arriving as one of the more lowkey style drops of the season, Salford City FC players rolled out for their game against Wrexham on the weekend in a new limited edition retro prematch jacket, which has once again been released to raise money for Salford Lads Club.
Back in July, Salford City FC released a limited edition jersey, which the players wore during preseason. The jersey was dropped to help raise funds for the Salford Lads Club, and sales of the shirt went on to raise £6,000 for the legendary Salford institution. Following on from that the Club has now released a jacket to appeal to the crossover culture between football and fashion in Salford, once again produced in collaboration with technical partners adidas and Pro:Direct Soccer.
Based on the iconic adidas Originals collection, the jacket’s green colour – like the jersey – is representative of the Lads Club’s iconic front doors and colour scheme, while the words ‘Salford City Football Club' emblazoned on the back are a nod to football’s anthem jackets that have been popular amongst supporters for decades.
More than a simple fundraiser though, the quality and appeal of the drop – elevated by the mystique surrounding a club that has such ties to the iconic Class of ’92 – puts Salford in an interesting position. It sees the club experimenting with the potential of entering the realms of hype drops that have come from other lower profile sides across Europe such as Venezia and Swedish side AIK. Whilst the League Two side are not quite at the level of such clubs just yet, they certainly have the potential to mark themselves out and tread a similar path.
A limited number of jackets have been produced to make this latest collection that bit more special, and they will be released in three batches, the last of which will be a run of 120 available exclusively from the Lads Club itself. Further details will be shared by the Club over the course of the next week. And it’s in this limited edition nature that an added level of prestige is granted; it’s a premium feel that’s not diluted by easy access. To boast a piece such as this tells not only of the quality of ones taste in fashion, but also in the appreciation of the story behind it.
As well as that green base colour, the jacket sees white accents, notably in the full length Three Stripes on the sleeves, and also on the adidas Trefoil symbol – the brand’s logo that has recently been reserved for Originals, exclusively representing iconic cultural products from the adidas archive. It’s a move that we’ve been calling for for several years now, and its first reintroduction into the world of football has once again got us wanting more.
Interestingly, it takes up position on the left of the chest, above the heart, bucking trends and convention for an off-centre presentation. It’s opposite the Lads Club’s iconic green signage, which has once again been faithfully recreated, much as it was on the jersey.
Andrew Gordon, Creative & Engagement Manager at Salford City, commented: “We’re delighted to have another opportunity to work together with adidas and Pro:Direct to help raise funds for Salford Lads Club in this their 120th anniversary year. The first drop in the summer was hugely popular and our first thought afterwards was let’s do it again.
“The crossover of art, music and sport culture in Salford is what makes our City's lifeblood, and collaborations like this where people all get together to help each other out is a true reflection of Salfordian spirit. Over the past 120 years the work that the Lads Club has done and the opportunities and support it has offered to people in our City has been outstanding, and its a real privilege to be able to play a part in making sure that continues.
“The jacket is proper smart and I hope supporters like it as much as we do. We’re really lucky to be working with adidas and Pro:Direct on this, and would like to thank them for their support of ourselves and the Salford Lads Club."
The Salford City FC prematch jacket will be available later this month in limited numbers at prodirectsport.com/soccer
