INTERVIEW: Grace Wales Bonner on Designing for the Jamaican Football Federation With adidas
We caught up with the British designer to find out more about her work with adidas and her relationship with football.
Grace Wales Bonner grew up around football. Surrounded by a family of Arsenal supporters and a sister who played for Dulwich Hamlet, it makes perfect sense that the lauded designer would find herself inspired by the sport and its design language — something which has found its way into her work in fashion numerous times.
Now, Wales Bonner is taking that inspiration one step further. As adidas begins a four-year partnership with the Jamaican Football Federation, the partnership kicks off with a four-piece game-day apparel range, designed by Wales Bonner. Designed for the Reggae Girlz and Reggae Boyz teams, the collection merges the spirit of Jamaican culture with classic adidas silhouettes, finessed with elements of Wales Bonner’s signature design.
Comprising home and away kits, a pre-match jersey and a reversible anthem jacket, the collection aims to invite fans from all backgrounds, cultures and generations into the sport and its significance. For Wales Bonner, the process of designing the kit offered an opportunity to exit her comfort zone and see football in a different light. “It’s been really exciting to work with the football team on this project and to think about designing something that is for pitch,” the designer tells Hypebae. “I’m very interested in the idea of finding elegance and beauty in the design language and in the history of the sport,” she continues.
We caught up with Grace Wales Bonner to find out more about the inspiration behind the kits, her relationship with football and what the future holds for her and adidas.
Scroll down to read the full interview.
You’ve worked really closely with Adidas and the Jamaican Football Federation on this collection. How did the collaboration come about and did it feel like a natural fit for you?
Yeah, definitely felt like a natural fit and an extension of what I’ve worked on with Adidas. It’s been really exciting to work with the football team on this project and to think about designing something that is for pitch. I guess it’s a quite different remit than the performance kit. So that’s been quite exciting and also the fact that the national team will be wearing these on the pitch. That comes with different design considerations as well, but it just feels like a very natural and special opportunity to be involved in this moment. This is the first time that adidas is working with the National Football team as well so it’s a very exciting moment to be part of.
As you said, there are specific technical requirements for performance wear, how did it feel to get out of your comfort zone?
It was interesting to work within different parameters, but I also knew I wanted to create something that felt very elegant and timeless. I think that’s generally an approach I have when designing and also designing in a sportswear context, I’ve always wanted to make something that feels quite refined. That was the inspiration really for the kits. For the home kit and the away kit, I wanted to bring in some slightly more unexpected colors and I always want to bring a sense of sartorialism or elegance and timelessness to the design.
Definitely. The collaboration includes both home and away kits for the Reggae Girlz women’s team, too. What was it like to be a part of championing women in the sport?
I think it’s really important. My sister is a football player and I think it’s really exciting to be able to be part of the journey of women’s football as well.
That’s amazing. It feels like football culture and fashion have intertwined in so many impactful ways recently. Your work has often referenced the game, so what is your own relationship with the sport like?
I think I’ve grown a bit around football, with my dad and my sisters and brothers supporting teams. I’ve always been quite aware of it. Growing up, my family supported Arsenal so I think I’ve always been around it. I’m very interested in the idea of finding elegance and beauty in the design language and in the history of the sport.
If you could dress any football player in the world, who would it be?
I was thinking actually it would have been amazing to dress Pele. I think that he was such an incredible style icon within football so he’s someone that has been a big inspiration.
He really was! Finally, what can you tell us about the future of collaborations between Wales Bonner and the world of football going forward? Can we expect more partnerships like these in the future?
It’s hard to really talk about the future but I’m really excited about this collaboration and to see where that leads us. In terms of Wales Bonner, we’ve just shown our collection in Paris during Fashion Week and we’re looking at continuing to present the collections in Paris in the future. We’ve got quite a few exciting things coming up this year.
