This article is part of our Kitted Out series, an exploration of the impact of soccer kits on culture and fashion.
Club teams and national teams from around the world release two, three and sometimes more football kits a year. Some clothing brands even add to the market by selling football-kit-inspired merchandise. So to make a shirt that stands out, that becomes iconic, means standing out from thousands of other creations and designs.
In 2018, ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Russia, designer Matthew Wolff and Nike made a Nigeria home strip that went on to drive significant demand and became a modern trailblazer in the football kit market.
“It was probably the first football shirt to have this drop moment that transcended football,” Doug Bierton, CEO of Classic Football Shirts, tells The Athletic. “It wasn’t just Nigeria fans or even just football shirt enthusiasts who wanted it — it was something where everybody who became aware of it wanted one and a secondary market for that shirt was almost instantly created.
“It was the first football shirt that went straight over its RRP (recommended retail price) on launch. Prior to that, it was just sneakers doing that kind of thing.”
