why is official football merchandise so shit?

[egb_hibs]

strip designs are ghastly...

...all the odds and sods are mingin.


put your partisan affiliations aside for a minute: under what other circumstances would you don a hideous lurid nylon t-shirt, or a ghastly piece of lee-shur wear that looks like it has been made - and probably has been - through the addition of food dye to the tears of a blind asian orphan slaving in some dickensian hell.

it's not that football apparell is intrinsically shit - although it does start at a disadvantage - the likes of kenny prove that you can produce football related clobber that doesn't make you look like a ****.

so what's wrong with those who commission the official stuff?

and especially; when did strip design descend from the creation of timeless iconography into the output of garish horrors that look like they were conceived from laurence lewellyn bowen and tracey emin getting jiggy in an industrial sized food blender.

[hibadelic]

Originally Posted by egb_hibs

so what's wrong with those who commission the official stuff?

Same thing as is wrong with the "new media" I expect.

I've long pondered your original question and for a while proved that it's possible to do something better. I'm not really sure why they don't but at least they made a stab at it recently even if it was just by ripping off one of Kenny's designs.

The problem seems to be that they think everything has to appeal to everyman so everything ends up looking like it was designed by Matalan. T-shirts designed to look like they have another t-shirt under them, I ask you? T-shirts with bits of material sewn on to the front FFS. I presume it sells well or they wouldn't stick with it. Would they?

[Bartok]

Originally Posted by egb_hibs

strip designs are ghastly...

...all the odds and sods are mingin.


put your partisan affiliations aside for a minute: under what other circumstances would you don a hideous lurid nylon t-shirt, or a ghastly piece of lee-shur wear that looks like it has been made - and probably has been - through the addition of food dye to the tears of a blind asian orphan slaving in some dickensian hell.

it's not that football apparell is intrinsically shit - although it does start at a disadvantage - the likes of kenny prove that you can produce football related clobber that doesn't make you look like a ****.

so what's wrong with those who commission the official stuff?

and especially; when did strip design descend from the creation of timeless iconography into the output of garish horrors that look like they were conceived from laurence lewellyn bowen and tracey emin getting jiggy in an industrial sized food blender.

Probs being deigned by Crowther

[Colr]

Too right -especially the stuff for kids.

They would sell much more if they would invest in some decent designers. I suspect Petrie's wife designs half the stufff.

[Smurf]

I'd like a Lacoste designed Hibs top.

[Decal Joe]

Originally Posted by Smurf

I'd like a Lacoste designed Hibs top.

It sounds terrible but I've kinda fell out of love with Lacoste since I started seeing it worn by ne'er do wells in conjunction with other chavtastic brands.

I think we can all appreciate the merit of a nice Lacoste polo shirt and a pair of jeans but not a lacoste shell suit tucked into white football socks inside a pair of the brownest white trainers you can imagine!

[Colr]

They should get some of the fashion students in Edinburgh to come up with some stuff.

[brianmac]

Originally Posted by Colr

They should get some of the fashion students in Edinburgh to come up with some stuff.

Dear God, no. As egb points out Kenny can get a football t-shirt looking the dugs
and i've recently bouht stuff from there. can't remember the last time i bought
any 'fishul stuf for myself, though the wee man gets a lot of stuff from the shop.
If they could get someone a bit 'streetwise' at football level, who knows what fans
like and what men could wear without looking like a neanderthal 70s football fan, then
i'm pretty sure they would see a big increase in turnover at the shop.

[egb_hibs]

one of the defining problems with actual football strips is it's one area where the 'less is more' axiom of most stylish gear is rejected with missionary zeal.

why have it simple and elegant, when you can throw in coloured flashes here there and everywhere, or horrid embossed patterns, or ridiculous collar details.

what's wrong with these people - is it as simple as the commercial drive to churn out a new kit each year or two, means you have to endlessly fuck about with these things to contrive differences from the last kit?

[wee 162]

Originally Posted by egb_hibs

one of the defining problems with actual football strips is it's one area where the 'less is more' axiom of most stylish gear is rejected with missionary zeal.

why have it simple and elegant, when you can throw in coloured flashes here there and everywhere, or horrid embossed patterns, or ridiculous collar details.

what's wrong with these people - is it as simple as the commercial drive to churn out a new kit each year or two, means you have to endlessly fuck about with these things to contrive differences from the last kit?

Yes.

Hibs strips are aesthetically worse now than they have ever been due to this shite. The only worse strips to look at we've ever had were the white stripe in the middle of the body Insave ones. Green body, white sleeves, do what the feck you want with the collar should be the design mantra told to our strip manufacturers. Instead of that you've got fecking half white sleeves, no discernible distinction between sleeves and body, and what can only be described as "bits" added on for no discernible reason.

Do what the feck you want with the away top as well. The home top should be sacrosanct.

[hixxy220]

I like the Hibs white training shirt, would look better as an away top...... anyone agree??

[AndyM]

Yep it looks good - unlike the home strip and the deeply boring away kit.

[nabser]

Originally Posted by hixxy220

I like the Hibs white training shirt, would look better as an away top...... anyone agree??

Looks better then this seasons strips thats for sure.