The Westminster Menswear Archive celebrates sportswear & fashion with Umbro 100, an exhibition exploring Umbro’s rich history of collaborations & kit sponsorship deals.
As far as classic sportswear, football & brand placements go there’s probably not much that can beat that iconic shot of New Order’s Bernard Sumner stood in front of 3 tower blocks wearing the legendary blue England Umbro shirt. The spirit of Italia’ 90 & Umbro’s sportswear legacy of collaborations is brought back to life courtesy of the Westminster Archive with The ‘Umbro 100: Sportswear x Fashion’ exhibition. Curated by Professor Andrew Groves and Dr Danielle Sprecher the exhibition explores the history of Umbro from their origins as a textile innovator of mint.’s very own home of Manchester, to becoming the sportswear spectacle of the 90s & noughties. A pioneer of collaborations from its very first in 2002 with Paul Smith, Umbro has previously worked with everyone from Patta to Palace Skateboards.
A retro sportswear brand which will no doubt be out in full force for the coming Euros in the form of retro England shirts, Umbro was famously worn by Liam Gallagher at their Maine Road gig back in 1996. A combination of ‘Mad fer it’ Mancunians and the sportswear revival of the mid to late 90s became the golden era for the British born diamond logo brand. Sponsorship deals with the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Ajax, Celtic, Everton & England also put Umbro at the very top of the replica football shirt industry.
Designers featured in the Umbro 100: Sportswear x Fashion exhibition include Kim Jones, Aitor Throup, Aries, Palace, Paul Smith, Vetements, Supreme, ALMOSTBLACK, Bikkembergs, Eliminator, Philip Treacy, Slam Jam, Factory Records, FORSOMEONE, Peter Saville, Patta, Off-White, John Smedley, Nigel Cabourn, Christopher Raeburn, Rowing Blazers, NOWHERE FC, Gio Goi, Hanon, House of Holland, KANGHYUK, New Order, Numerals, Sweet Sktbs, R. Newbold, Pretty Green, and N.HOOLYWOOD.
The Umbro 100: Sportswear x Fashion exhibition is open to the general public from 11am -7pm from 12th April to 28th April 2024 at the University of Westminster, Marylebone, London, NW1 5LS. Don’t forget to subscribe to Sneaker Jobs & follow @sneaker_jobs to keep up to date with all the latest industry news.
