Football has always been present in local communities and the neighborhoods they represent. Before the modern game’s 24-hour news cycle, its reach rarely extended beyond the creaking turnstiles of the local ground.
The weekend match was the beating heart of the local community. Local pubs, packed with fans, both at home and abroad, before the midday kick-off, fill the streets a long way from the station to the pearly gates of the ground.
In the 1980s, it was a working-class sport. The game was gritty, raw, and deeply connected to cultural identity. Stars like Marco van Basten, Gary LinekerKarl-Heinz Römmernigge, Michel Platini, and… Ruud Gullit It was an era symbol of football culture, and is still romanticized by fans in the stands to this day.
Adidas has been central to this, not just as a sportswear brand but as a runway icon. From the Trefoil branding on classic football kits to the timeless design of Sambas and Deerthe German brand has been synonymous with authenticity and no-nonsense spirit for football fans.
“At adidas, we are passionate about bringing these stories to life in collaboration with our associations, clubs and players, and we are proud to be able to play a role in bringing them to a much wider audience than just football.” Jurgen RankAdidas’ senior design director for football apparel, told DMARGE exclusively.
He was seen in the biggest clubs and national teams at the time – Liverpool and Bayern Munich, Holland and Germany Adidas kits have often served as a unifying symbol of club and community pride.
In the 1980s, the brand began introducing more expressive design elements in its collections, aided by the move to polyester, which opened up a range of printing opportunities. Think of the Netherlands’ 1988 World Cup kit or the AC Milan kit, immortalized by their Dutch national team. Adidas’ dominance on the field grew, as did its influence off the field. It wasn’t just big hair in the 1980s and world-class playmakers who would define an historic era of the sport.
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“A football shirt is much more than a performance sporting product – they are storytelling canvases that carry a level of identity, history, culture and style.”
Jurgen Rank, Senior Design Director for Adidas Football Wear
“The biggest graphic explosion happened in 1988 for EUROS held in Germany,” Jürgen Rank told DMARGE. Horst Dassler [Adidas’ chairman and the son of Adidas’ founder] She asked Adidas designers to try something completely new, and encouraged them to be as bold as possible with the geometric patterns that inspire them. The Dutch and German shirts are the best examples of this, and they are the two shirts that have become iconic.
However, not everyone was immediately receptive to this bold departure. “The Dutch national team lost their first match in the tournament, and immediately announced that they did not like the design. But unfortunately, they went on to win it all and the shirt instantly became one of the most iconic Dutch football shirts of all time.
Adidas, Holland and the most iconic kits of all time
the 1988 FIFA World Cup It marked a pivotal moment in the wider game – not just for Adidas but for football itself – bridging a gap at the intersection of football, fashion and culture that had never been seen before. Brand Three iconic lines They are worn with pride by the world’s best players and fans alike, creating an organic connection between the game and the brand.
By the mid-1990s, football kits had made their way from the terraces into everyday street style, transcending the 90s on the pitch and intertwining with everyday life – although they were certainly not as prevalent as fashion fans are today.
Jurgen Rank continued: “The change came around the 2015/2016 season, when it started to become much bigger, and I think we as Adidas played a major role in it.”
“From 2016 onwards, the starting point for all our designs in football has been the slogan: ‘From the pitch to the street’. When we launched the 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup jerseys inspired by the 80s and 90s, the overwhelming positive reaction from players, fans, journalists and influencers confirmed our philosophy: Football “Football and fashion are fundamentally intertwined. To ignore that is to ignore what culture dictates.”
Modern collaboration that defines the movement
Adidas was intent on capitalizing on this cultural wave as a cultural tastemaker, announcing collaborations with some of the world’s most influential designers and fashion houses. These pieces are with castle, Yuhji Yamamoto, Wales Bonnerand verge She brought fashion aesthetics to the kits of some of the world’s most famous clubs and countries, blurring the lines between kit and clothing. Fashion design.
in north london, Arsenal He championed this new direction with high-profile fans like Will Poulter who joined Patrick Vieira and other club legends at adidas. original. always An advertising campaign to launch the new third kit before the 2024/25 season.
“This year saw us bring back the trefoil logo – our adidas Originals brand – to our biggest club partners.”
Jurgen Rank, Senior Design Director for Adidas Football Wear
“This logo hasn’t been seen on the pitch since the 1970s and 1980s, where it has evolved to become synonymous with streetwear and fashion across our brand. But as we’ve just discussed, the lines are now largely blurred – so the 75y “Our brand anniversary was a great time to bring it back to the field and make an impact,” said Jurgen Rank.
“Just look at our recent Aston Villa video with Ozzy Osbourne, our Manchester United video with Barry Keoghan or our Arsenal content with Will Poulter and Patrick Vieira. We’re bringing more fun and club insight to our work.”
The return of the hat-trick feels like a perfect moment for football. The return of a cultural icon, but one with an established place in the contemporary football landscape.
Football groups are no longer limited to stadiums; They have returned to everyday life, becoming a staple of contemporary street fashion. It is not unusual to see them in local cafes, on public transport or in bars far from league matches. But as we know, football has never existed in a vacuum, it reflects the changing cultural tides.
Women’s World Cup 2023
“The 2023 Women’s World Cup away shirts are a great example of this as there is becoming more awareness of the environment we live in,” Rank explained. “For this collection, our goal was to celebrate the unique landscapes and colors found in each country – in a unique artistic expression. Many of these drawings were made by hand, captured on camera and then transferred to t-shirts.
Adidas has gone to great lengths to represent the unique qualities of each participating country through their unique individual design elements. The entire process begins more than two years before the final release of the kits, working closely with the athletes and governing bodies to ensure that the designs reflect the region adidas is designing for.
For Spain, Adidas took inspiration from the coral reefs found abundant in both southern Europe and Australia, where the World Cup was held, and compressed the colors between two panels of glass to achieve this bright pattern across the kit.
For the German strip, real branches were used along with spray paint to capture the natural beauty of Germany’s forest canopy, while Japan adopted sunrise clouds that were recreated by dropping the desired colors into the water to replicate subtle floating patterns.
“It is a project that remains very close to my heart, and I don’t think it should be underestimated as an indicator of the exciting rise of women’s football over the last decade – and we are very proud to be a partner in this growth,” Jürgen Rank told DMARGE.
“I’m still very proud of the team that brought this idea to life.”
Jurgen Rank, Senior Design Director for Adidas Football Wear
Jurgen Rank’s favorite adidas kit of all time
Today’s shirts carry an extra layer of meaning – they are symbols of style, status and identity in a world where football’s influence is more global than ever before. Naturally, this applies to all versions over the decades; Each represents a goal, player or famous moment uniquely placed in the club’s history.
However, by embracing elements of fashion and lifestyle, adidas and its partners ensure that football apparel remains relevant in the rapidly evolving cultural landscape, capturing the raw emotion and organic connection between each fan and their club that remains constant throughout their lives.
“I have followed my city team all my life,” Jurgen Rank told me. “So the beautiful anniversary shirt I wore in 2021 for my hometown club SpVgg Bayreuth, who currently play in the Bundesliga 4y League, with local brewery Bayreuther Hell, holds enormous personal meaning for me.
“Similarly, I grew up as a fan of National Manneschaft Therefore, having the privilege of designing the shirt of the 2014 World Cup winning team is more than special to me. There are no words I can use that come close to doing it justice.
Each kit carries with it a unique story, woven into the fabric of football’s collective memory. Designs such as Spain’s 2010 World Cup-winning kit, Germany’s 2014 triumph in Brazil, and Argentina’s 2023 FIFA World Cup in Qatar shirt reflect the brand’s commitment to authenticity, performance and cultural resonance.
As societal trends continue to shape the modern game, influencing the evolution of football kits, and with innovative and sustainable materials quickly becoming the norm, one thing will always remain constant: the inherent connection we feel with our clubs and the kits they wear.
There is no doubt that the game will change, and football’s cultural footprint will continue to grow as its influence seeps deeper into fashion, art and society. However, how far can this intersection between sport and culture evolve, and what stories will tomorrow’s kits tell?