Football and fashion for the people, by the people
rst-of-its-kind William Morris patterned football kit has launched as a result of a collaboration between a museum and a football club.
In a first collaboration of its kind between a museum and football club, William Morris Gallery and Walthamstow FC launch a limited selection of sportswear produced by British sports manufacturer Admiral to support the club’s journey as they climb the football pyramid and seek to establish a new women’s team in the area.
The pattern chosen from the Museum’s archives is ‘Yare’ for both home and away kits – designed by John Henry Dearle sometime after 1892. It was block printed on cotton at Merton Abbey and features scrolling green leaves with flowers in shades of pale blue, red and yellow on dark blue background. John Henry Dearle (1859-1932) was a British textile and stained-glass designer trained by William Morris who was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Dearle designed many of the later wallpapers and textiles released by Morris & Co.and contributed background and foliage patterns to tapestry. The home kit features a V neck tonal dark blue and light blue jersey and matching shorts. The away displays a vibrant replica of John Henry Dearle’s original design with a aqua coloured round neck collar and trim. Full access to the gallery’s archive was given, allowing the design team to explore the full collection of textiles and wallpaper to choose the pattern which was digitally re-drawn and colour matched to be sublimated onto the clothing, taking over a hundred hours of research and design.
The clothing line will be on sale from midday at 31 July 2023 at the William Morris Gallery and online through Pro Direct Soccer through their online shop. Both Wood Street Walls and Walthamstow FC will use a percentage of the sales to help establish a new women’s football team for the borough.Any purchases for season ticket holders through Walthamstow FC, will be entered into a prize draw, with three winners winning either a Tracksuit top, home jersey or away jersey. You can enter the prize draw here.
