Admiral’s new kit for Walthamstow FC sees football and fashion meet art – with a nod to William Morris

Admiral Sports has teamed up with Walthamstow FC and the William Morris Gallery in East London, where the key figure of the Arts and Crafts movement was born and raised, to design the home and away kit for the 2023/24 season.

The kit features Morris’s 1892 ‘Yare’ textile pattern, and the repeating motif has been altered for the home strip to match Walthamstow’s club colours, with the away kit and warm up tracksuit bearing the true colours of the original.

Walthamstow FC is a semi-professional football club that plays in the Isthmian League Division One North, and to mark their commitment to grassroots football and their community, a percentage of the proceeds of shirt sales will be used to establish a new women’s team in the borough.

The accompanying campaign, which went live on Instagram yesterday, 31 July, when the kit was launched, also acts as “a love letter to the area”. Shot in Walthamstow and featuring a cast of local models in favourite local haunts, the imagery is a true celebration of the area.

Theo Hamburger, Head of Sales and Marketing Admiral Sports, said: “Working on this shirt collaboration has been a special experience. Being able to tap into the William Morris archive of prints allowed us to dream up designs we hadn’t imagined before. This project was one for the community and we were able to work with so many talented people across Walthamstow, from the models, photographers, and designers.

“Morris once said: “Art made by the people for the people, as a joy to the maker and the user.” I believe that we have produced something that is both a work of art and useable and hope it brings as much joy to the fans and the community as it did to us working on this kit.”

The shirts, retailing at £55, are now being sold on the Pro Direct website, at the Walthamstow FC club shop, and through William Morris Gallery’s shop and website.