I’m often asked what my favourite football kit of all time is – it’s the impossible question.

If I had to name just one, it would probably be AC Milan’s 1990/92 season home kit. I love the simplicity and how perfectly balanced the kit is, especially paired with white shorts and socks.

The jersey features a single star (representing 10 Series A tiles) rather than the club crest, yet the red and black stripes are so iconic that it was and still continues to be instantly recognisable.

I was actually fortunate enough to work on AC Milan’s 2017/18 jersey. As you can imagine, I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to emulate what I consider to be one of the most iconic football kits.


The red and black stripes are so iconic (Picture: Omar Bai/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

What was the inspiration for the latest Arsenal kit?



For the home jersey we wanted to create a kit that was a staple of Arsenal’s identity, while celebrating our previous partnership together. We tried to achieve this with the tri-colour tipping on the collar and cuffs, reminiscent of all the Adidas kits that have come before.

The away kit embodies our ‘stadium to the street’ ethos, while also paying homage to the famous ‘bruised banana’ kit – a term every avid football fan knows.

The original ‘bruised banana’ kit (Picture: ROBIN MILLARD/AFP/Getty Images)

After a lot of research and exploration, we arrived at a graphic that resonates with the spirit of 1991/92, as well as other elements such as the lightning bolt, taken from the crest displayed on the façade of the Royal Arsenal Gatehouse and an art deco ‘A’ found within the Emirates.

We simply didn’t want to take something that had come before and redraw it, but rather reference important and deliberate detailing from the club and bring that into our process.

The away kit embodies our ‘stadium to the street’ ethos (Picture: Adidas)

What inspired you to become a football kit designer?

Football has always had a profound effect on me.

From an early age I found it fascinating how a football club and its fans would adorn themselves in a particular set of colors and patterns. Being transfixed on these details made me really appreciate how design can be reinterpreted season after season.

Alongside music, it was probably these elements that helped develop and enrich my passion for design, which ultimately led me to pursue a career in it.

Why do people love football kits so much?

Football has a huge emotional and cultural connection through generations of fans and it’s that sense of belonging that is often encapsulated through their team’s football kit.

But football kit culture has also come to influence everyday life through fashion.

There has been a resurge of bold graphics used across sports and streetwear, which aims to capture the zeitgeist of 90s football.

It’s something that a lot of people have embraced because it’s loud, expressive, individual and relevant.

Arsenal players Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Héctor Bellerín and Reiss Nelson (Picture: Adidas)

What are the first steps when designing a football kit?

As a football department, we follow a creative direction for the season that helps influence how we approach the design process for each of our teams.

In addition, we spend a lot of time talking to each club and their fans to gain insight into the club’s traditions, ethos, and – most importantly – its culture. We also actively try to keep up-to-date with relevant trends to ensure our designs resonate with both the team and its fans.



What’s the best part about your job?

Apart from seeing the jerseys we work on brought to life and being played in, for me, one of the best parts of my job is working with people from all over the world.

The cultural insights that friends and colleagues have shared with me are highly influential, and have had a huge impact on my work both professionally and personally.

Arsenal player Daniëlle van de Donk (Picture: Adidas)

What’s the wow moment of your career to date?

Working with Arsenal has definitely been a career-defining moment.

However, being Welsh, the biggest highlight and privilege while working at Adidas has been the opportunity to contribute to my country’s football kit. Being able to help influence the design direction for the upcoming Wales jersey has been a truly humbling and surreal experience.

What make a good football kit?

As football kits are quite subjective, it’s hard to define what makes a good or a bad kit.

They are often measured on the success of the team playing in them and will live longer in the collective memory than others because of the emotional connection attached to them. However, that perception and outlook is starting to shift as football has begun to strike a balance between performance and lifestyle, which has given the kits a new identity.

That being said, a football kit that is able to tap into and represent the culture of the club or country it represents brings individuality and meaning.

Are you a big football fan?

I’m a massive Swansea City fan, so naturally one of my favorite players has to be Joe Allen.

The man is basically a wizard!

There’s nothing like seeing the kit you designed in action (Picture: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

What qualifications do you need to become a football kit designer?

You generally need a university degree in apparel or graphic design, however our team is actually quite diverse.


I studied graphic design, but we all have different backgrounds in terms of what we studied or how we ended up designing football kits.

There are people who did industrial design, visual effects and 3D or fine art and fashion design over a period of three to five years, which means everyone is able to bring a different dynamic to the team and to our design process.

Any advice for budding football kit designers?

Aside from dedication and hard work, you should always apply for jobs when they become available. It sounds obvious but not all people feel confident enough to do it.

At least by applying you can gain valuable feedback and contacts within the industry to help point you in the right direction.

How to become a... In Metro.co.uk’s new series, we’ll be hearing from people who have the most coveted sports jobs about how they got there, their advice for others and what happens at the centre of the world’s biggest sporting moments.

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