From official club collaborations to the finest football-inspired collections, we take a look at some of our favorite recent streetwear drops that are influenced by the beautiful game.
We’ve spoken numerous times about fashion and football, the interaction and blending of the two, and how it has changed the football kit landscape. But today we look at the inverse.
Football clubs in recent years have embraced fashion culture, bringing in esteemed designers for their merchandise — going outside the box for training gear, separate releases, and even on-field kits. Simultaneously, the fashion industry has adapted similarly to take inspiration from the beautiful game.
The increase in the influence of football on streetwear has been steady but swift. Fashion designers and brands have found a gold mine of sorts with the commercial popularity of football clubs and their kits in particular.
There has been a noticeable boom in the market for tops inspired by football kits or mimicking their basic style and features. Some brands have taken it a step further and have turned to selling reworked versions of iconic classic kits with their spin on it.
From the slight tweaks to the drastic redesigns, here’s a look at some of our most notable soccer-inspired streetwear releases and designs in recent months.
Verdy x McDonald’s China: “Best Friends Forever”
A really interesting one to kick us off. McDonald’s China is the vehicle driving a drop that features both clothing and special meal packaging.
The fast foot supergiant partnered up with Japanese designer Verdy to create a polarizing capsule of tees, hoodies, a varsity jacket, and yes, football-inspired jerseys.
We get both a red and black kit, both featuring embroidered burgers and fries strewn across its entirety. Vick, the character featured, is an iconic graphic created by Verdy, and it certainly fits the vibe the top is going for.
This set will be exclusive to China and will drop for purchase on January 2, 2024.
Rice Nine Ten: Sporty Sweaters
This is a Japanese-based clothing brand that has drawn some keen eyes from soccer fans with some of their most recent releases.
A big specialty of theirs is hand-knit sweaters and tops, and a seasoned fan would catch that a few of these seem to draw direct inspiration from the Italian giants in Milan.
The iconic dark blue of the Nerazzurri (Inter) as well as the black and red stripes of the Rossoneri (Milan) are immediate eye-catchers. If you ask us, the subtlety of these pieces as well as the quality of the execution make these sweaters a hit.
BAPE x Inter Miami
To close out this summer, BAPE dropped a saucy team-up with Inter Miami, a hipster’s dream.
Pictured in this drop was a selection of t-shirts, shorts, caps, and the star of the show, the pullover hoodies.
The t-shirts in this drop are what drew the most inspiration from a football kit — sponsor down the middle, badge in the top corner, and the BAPE logo in the other. However, for all its similarities to a kit, BAPE did really well to make it feel different, like a top exclusively for the streets.
Pullover hoodies are very hard to get wrong, but even harder to nail perfectly. We think BAPE again did a stellar job blending aspects of their recognizable brand with elements of Inter Miami. In this case, they pretty much nailed it.
