Round and round you go, always there you return

In addition, the presentation of this collection took place through a shoot with the respective legends of these five clubs, such as Del Piero, Zidane and Schweinsteiger.

These are just some of the many instances we are seeing more and more often on our Instagram homepages or in major magazines.

The phenomenon of the return to vintage 80‘/90’ aesthetics by many football teams and sportswear brands, is testimony to the fact that the cyclical nature of fashion, and thus the return of many trends and stylistic characteristics, also affects the world of football.

As I’m wont to say, football teams are real brands, and for this very reason they have to maintain a curated and precise aesthetic; we see more and more, teams experimenting with colours, materials, clothing and related technologies, but we have seen just as many return to their comfort zone.

Two examples are Manchester United, who in the 2022/23 season wore a home kit inspired by the 1993/94 home kit, and Inter who in the 2020/21 season wore a third kit inspired by the 1998 shirt with grey and black horizontal stripes.

All’interno del panorama moda, l’evoluzione è quasi all’ordine del giorno, e più questo processo va avanti più sentiamo il bisogno di mantenere un rapporto con il passato, quasi per paura di perderci andando troppo avanti. Il futuro ci spaventa e ci incuriosisce, ma forse non siamo ancora pronti a esplorare l’evoluzione a 360°.

The same process happens within the football/stylistic landscape, bringing with it great profit for the club.

La carta della maglietta vintage riportata nei tempi moderni è una carta vincente su ogni punto di vista. In primo luogo, riportare in hype una maglia con un design preciso, fa sì che la memoria collettiva dei tifosi si riaccenda, ricordando i tempi passati. Ed è una strategia molto funzionale, soprattutto nel caso in cui si tratta di una riedizione storica per un anniversario.

Picking up on the concept just mentioned, restoring, as if it were a computer, but in the end it is, the collective memory also ensures a guaranteed commercial success. If even this motivation is not enough, I have one last thought, perhaps the most banal: by creating a jersey that replicates another vintage jersey, the pool of people interested increases, as it includes both current and past fans, from the 80‘/90’, who first saw that design appear on the jersey.

In the generation that also has me in it, the FOMO of vintage is central, everything vintage appeals to us, as if we too had lived through that period.

I close with a very last thought, if the return of vintage is always so idolised and appreciated, but above all sensible for many points of view, I am afraid that in the future the creativity of those who design football shirts will fade away, because it will be a continuous reprise of the kit of two/ten/fifteen years ago, without having new ideas and therefore an evolution of thought.

We’ll see.

Kisses, Alisia <3