Wednesday, September 04, 2013

From Kop to Catwalk: 50 years of Football and Fashion



Back in the 1960’s Britain saw the renovation of style, youth culture and of course football. In 1961 the maximum wage abolished for footballers before this point the great Bobby Charlton, Matt Busby and Bobby Moore were all subject to just £21 a week. This saw footballers creating style off the pitch due to them having disposable incomes. From this point it changed the football world forever.
As like now, back then there were huge cultural movements and styles coming from the terraces to the high street.
A new style was born and footballers were at the forefront of driving it forward. From George Best to David Beckham, however it was the mod’s, skinheads and casuals that were making the headlines. These men and women helped take style from the Kop to the high street. 

Currently there is an exhibition been held to the National Football Museum, which is called “Strike a Pose: 50 Year’s of Football and Fashion” which looks back at half a century of football and fashion. The exhibition features various icons on and off the pitch from the likes of Sol Campbell, David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Robbie Fowler for that cream coloured Armani suit he wore at 1996 FA Cup Final. The exhibition was inspired by the book “The Fashion of Football, From Best to Beckham, From Mod to Label Slave” by Paolo Hewitt and Mark Baxter.
With that in mind we thought we would highlight some of the iconic styles from clothing to footwear that tell the story of 50 years of fashion style and football revolution. Get ready for a trip down memory lane. 

From the 1960’s there has been many designer clothing brands that has been a massive hit on the terraces. Many people could be seen chanting their heroes in Burberry, Lacoste, YSL, Prada and hosting a pair of Adidas Originals. The most popular trainer was the Forest Hills that came in white and gold, which originally came into action between 1979 and 1983. Other trainers that adopted the casual terrace style were the Trimm Trabb, Grand Slam, LA Trainer, Dublin, Stockholm, Samba, Handball Special.
The Ralph Lauren brand polo shirts were popular amongst the terrace; although these brands were popular they are also damaging the brands as it seemed to be the “Hooligan brands” Especially in the mid 1980’s, which Burberry found that out! 
Over the years there been a lot of brands that made it from the terraces to the high street with many brands coming back into the fashion world such as Fila and Adidas Originals of which they host a retro sporting look. Here is to another 50 years of fashion and football that will have influence from Beckham, Van Persie and Ronaldo.
Which items from the terraces would you like to see come back and which was your favourite? 
The author is a football fanatic, he has written many articles for various sports and fashion related blogs. In his spare time he loves to watch his beloved Gunner’s at the Emirates. 
About the author: 
The author is a football fanatic, he has written many articles for various sports and fashion related blogs. In his spare time he loves to watch his beloved Gunner’s at the Emirates. 

 image via