Graphic designer and sportswear designer - currently Senior Sportswear Designer at Fanatics - Emre Gultekin has added to his catalogue of kit histories with this gallery of England’s shirts, shorts and socks.
Covering the duration of the Three Lions’ presence on the international scene, the retrospective takes in everything from the genuinely tailored-shirt look of the early days through to Umbro’s “Tailored By” revolution and beyond.
Important landmarks include the removal of the crown atop the world-famous crest - and later the appearance and removal of the “ENGLAND” addition - and the emergence of the legendary red as the go-to change colour, of course sported in England’s finest hour: the 1966 World Cup triumph.
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The fact yellow was also used as an alternative will come as a surprise to some, but this was indeed provided by Umbro and then, as part of a striking reimagination of the look of England kits, Admiral. The cult supplier delivered two Home designs which were both controversial for their increased decoration and, via the passing of time, enormously iconic.
Alas, the partnership didn’t endure like the reunion with Umbro did. The double diamond adorned the shirts for the following 29 years - 1984-2013 - to add to the two-decade association total before, and created an almost synonymity between the two institutions.
The final Umbro chapter (so far) included Mexico ’86, Italia ’90 and Euro 96, while the red Away tradition has seen heavily St George’s Cross-styled incarnations for the 1998, 2014 and 2018 World Cups, with flag decorations on several other releases too.
That trend overlaps with the baton being passed to Nike, whose - for some controversial - acquiring of the Football Association contract has borne varied fruit in technological advancements, simplifications of the FA’s branding and, for good measure, one or two timeless favourites.
Visit Behance to view more of Emre's work. Keep up to date with it by following egsportsdesign on Instagram.
