MATERIAL

CULTURE
T H E E S S AY

Jamie Oxtoby BA Design Yr 2

Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
Sport and Material Culture

2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF KIT DESIGN

Origins and Development

3. CLUB IDENTITY AND DESIGN

The graphic colour and pattern of the
football strip

4. SPONSORSHIP
Reasons behind it and the future of
sponsorship

5. Fetishism and Football

Followers of the football religion

6. THE FINAL SCORE

 objects have become emotionally more valuable than they usually warrant, acquiring a

INTRODUCTION Sport and Material Culture

special status among fans. Certain shirts and shirt numbers have been retired by clubs
because of their historical association, giving them a fantastical quality among followers
of the football religion. Is this behaviour mirrored outside of sport and to what degree?

Sport is perhaps the worlds most dominant culture, however in the field of cultural
studies and anthropology it seems to be an area that is relatively untouched. And the
intellectual and explanatory value of the resulting work is questionable, and seems
to offer little to those not au fait with sport. However football distils and plays out
fundamental social questions relating to class, gender, ethnicity and age, and a fuller
understanding can be contributed to material culture from it.

Particularly through the uniform of football we can analyse several key areas of material
culture such as social identity, colour psychology, sponsorship and consumerism as well
as fetishism. All of which transfer core ideas into the rest of material culture and a fuller
understanding.

This essay is directed at those perhaps not as familiar with the world of sport as myself,
however I hope that they can find resonance within it, and recognize ideas that can be
taken on board for a wider knowledge of the subject of material culture.

The first section concentrates on the history of kit design in football. Even from its
origins there was an awareness that colours had to be designated and assigned to teams.
But as the years passed, the amount of teams grew, and so did the different identities
between them. The identities did not develop in isolation; they were part of a set of
interrelated factors including the environment and culture of what the team was a part.

The next section focuses on graphic colour and pattern in the football strip, and how
these club identities were carried through the design of them. First deployed as under-
stated fashion then later developing with psychological and historical meaning. The Football has the ability to project codes
advent of colour television further highlighted the importance in helping viewers to and rituals, social norms and identity
identify teams and players. through clothing. And the methods in
which it does this are evident in daily life.
Section three looks at the use of sponsorship in the kits. Sport was the ideal vehicle to Though in a different context, the material
promote products, but then later we see how some sponsors even became synonymous culture in football can be used as a tool
with the identity of a club itself. for a greater understanding of the subject.
It has the ability to reinforce these social
Section four highlights some of the ways in which items in sport have become fetishized norms, but also challenge and change
to extreme lengths. Relating to the ideas of Marx and Freud, we can see how certain them.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF
KIT DESIGN Origins and Development
There were no uniform kits in the beginning, instead players would turn out in whatever
they had to hand and teams would be distinguished by wearing distinctively coloured
caps, scarves or sashes over cricket whites as many clubs were formed by cricketers
seeking a team game for the winter. In England colours were often those of the public
schools and sports clubs with which the game was associated. Popular designs were
self-coloured or hooped, vertical stripes did not appear until circa 1883. As a result of
the growing participation in the game there was a dramatic growth in demand for tops
in distinctive colours that could be produced at economic prices. In terms of design, it
changed as fashion did, although functionality was the primary target.

The clothing, in this case the football

kit, began as the designator between
teams and players rather than a direct

4
91
y1
of representation of the club. It was only

unt
later when the sport grew that they

Co
rt
became signifiers of the organisation

o
kp
oc
or club. Often colours from the school

St
represented were used, in patterns that
were cheap and readily available. By
connects a personal identity to collective
dressing in the same clothes though
identity, larger groups which enjoy a
they became associated with each other
shared passion and sense of loyalty to
and fought for the same cause. Football
a belief, a lifestyle or even to a larger
kits and colours are often related
political or cultural entity. Football
metaphorically to battle uniforms in
loyalties are deeply engrained, whether
that the participants share an ideology
these are to be the act of playing, the
and publicly show this through dress
-90
sociability of bonding with players, clubs
code. To play for or support a particular 89
19 and spectators, or to the moral codes
club becomes a badge of identity, which .C.
e yF
rnl presumed by the game. Thus, football
connects with other cultural markers Bu
centres upon an affirmation of faith, an
of identity such as religion and or
element of identity, both personal and
nationality. In a wider context, support
collective.
 While some colours allow for different

CLUB IDENTITY AND DESIGN The graphic colour and

interpretation, others have achieved a
universal meaning. Gold is associated with
success and usually an honour bestowed
on a team or player rather than assumed.
pattern of the football strip For example, F.C. Barcelona are allowed
wear a gold cup on their shirt for one year,
in recognition of winning the World Club
Championship. This has an undoubted
psychological effect on opponents and a
reminder of the giant task in front of them.

In recent years, fluorescent colours have a

lon
become more common in shirts. First a rce 9-10
. B 00
ridiculed for their sparse relation to a F.C irt, 2
sh
clubs identity, but it was found that the
bright colours helped players to spot
teammates better in their peripheral,
giving them a legal advantage. It is now
more commonly used in goalkeeper
shirts as it is believed that strikers
hirt subconsciously are attracted to the
plica s
h re opposition goalkeeper and strike the ball
Heat
ton nearer to him, or back out of a tackle if
New 09
s 20 they know he is in the vicinity. Colour of Petr
an C
goal ech,
edf a kit can also give a team a disadvantage. k
nit Chel eeper,
rU sea,
ste Famously when playing in grey, 2010
he
nc Manchester United lost to Southampton
Ma
3-1. United were trailing 0-3 at half time
Strong primary colours can dominate the sport to the extent that some teams are and manager Alex Ferguson famously
referred to by their team colours, such as England’s Manchester United fans refer their blamed the grey kit for his player’s
team as the ‘reds’. They use colour to make them readily identifiable, but also signifying inability to pass to each other. The grey kit
power and strength to supporters and opponents. Interestingly Manchester United was never worn again after this.
were formed from a club called Newton Heath, who wore green and gold - colours that
have been introduced to a scarf that supporters wear in protest of the current American

Ryan Giggs, Ma
vs Southampto
owners of the club. Here we can see how the colours have strong reference to the past,
and wearing the old colours shows a commitment to tradition and historical identity.
They want it to be publically known to the owners that they want to keep a sense of
heritage and history to club while progressing as a club. A kind of ‘remember this is

n, 1996
nchester Utd
where we came from’ banner.
Traditionally kits were first designed slightly larger so that the opponents looked bigger
and more intimidating. Large collars traditionally were used to keep players warm in
the cold winter months. However as the game speed increased the balance of comfort,
performance and emotional connection with the club was harder to accomplish in the
design. As fitness increased, tighter shirts were created to show the physique of the
SPONSORSHIP Reasons behind it and the
players as a threatening image as well as the ergonomics of their movement. The use
of dynamic motifs in sports design is often used to signify the high performance of the
future of sponsorship
product, and by association, the wearer. Though it has slightly different effect when worn For many advertisers, sport was the ideal vehicle to promote
by the pie-eating supporter. their products to the youth market. Both sponsor and sponsored
have come to rely on one another not just financially but through
the promotion of an associated image of lifestyle that neither
can attain separately. Towards the end of the 1970s there was
increasing pressure on clubs to feature sponsor’s logos on
player’s shirts, pressure that was resolutely resisted by the
football and broadcasting authorities. From then designers
had to produce shirts that both mirrored the clubs identity but
also the company that produced it. The growth of corporate
entertainment through the ‘tented villages’ that now accompany
most major sporting events is another manifestation of the
increasing links between sport and business. The spectator

01 u,
is now being spoken to as a mass consumer. Sponsorship is Liverpoo

, 2 alo
l, 1980

0
ea K
Br
az els on
Ch lom essential these days but does this mean the individualality and
il b
ad localness of clubs is disappearing?
Sa

ge
, 20
10
Manufacturers push the boundaries in
their designs for kits, while generally
keeping to traditional colour schemes.
Organized sports began as a means of entertaining people, Abstract patterns, splotches, scratch
keeping them fit for work and war, and drawing society together. marks and barcode stripes appeared. The
In the past century it has played an important role in each of 1990s will be remembered as a pivotal
these and other aspects of peoples lives. The clothing worn and period in the design of kits and shirts
associated has become an important signifier of the clubs DNA, from this period have become extremely
and more recently of performance elitism. The modern football collectible.
shirt acts like a battle uniform, showing off various medals, stars
and awards, both in recognition of the wearer and heightening
their status, but also as a warning to the opposition of the calibre
of what they will meet in battle. It is the first contest of a football

Birm
match, of signs and signifiers. And when the battle has ended,
shirts are swapped between players, both as a mark of respect for

nghi
each other’s performance but also as a scalp for the victor.
am
City
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992
Brands help to pinpoint time and place
of kits as well as becoming mutual
supporters of teams. Spurs fans would
boycott the use of JVC equipment because
of their connection to rivals Arsenal, and
Fetishism and Football Followers of the football religion
football seasons would be remembered
by the sponsors designated on the kit at A popular metaphor in football media is to narrate is as a quasi-religious society. Football
that time. The signifier of the shirt was loyalties are deeply engrained, either through playing or supporting. Thus, football
now becoming difficult to decide. Was a centres upon an affirmation of faith. In common with religion, football involves a ritual
certain shirt worn in support of the team, around cultural artefacts that generate symbolic communication with performative
of the company that makes it, sponsors dimensions. Christian Bromberger (1993: 45), in analysing the parallels of religion and
it or all of these? In 1998, Nike were able football, noted that ‘the faithful congregation of supporters and the anointed community,
to dictate the eight friendly matches that each manifest codified gestures and a special language.’
Brazil played as part of a shirt contract. Ian Wrig
Presently, sponsorship is also overtaking
ht, Arsen
al, 1998 Diego Maradona, arguably the greatest footballer of all time, played for Argentina
club identities. and wore the number 10 shirt for club and country. Maradona’s performances were
remembered in a kind of ritualized manner, as a genuine expression of joy or happiness.
Newcastle United’s St James’ Park stadium has had its name sold to Sports Direct retail. This no more evident than in the commentary in this goal against England:
Arsenal’s ground The Emirates Stadium is one of many that has had it rights sold to
companies that in return pay the clubs millions to advertise their brand. The identity of ‘The genius of world soccer.
clubs is quickly dissipating. So where is this leading? Will clubs in the future be renamed Always Maradona, genius, genius, genius…
by their sponsors, and lose all sense of locality and historic pride? What will be the make Goal, goal.
up of a shirt, what will it signify? I want to cry.
Oh Holy God, long live soccer.
What a goal. This makes me cry. Forgive me.
dium, Maradona makes the best play of all time.
k Sta
s Par
St. Jame What planet did you come from?
@
rect
ts Di Leaving so many English behind.
Spor astle Arg
e
New
c
Uniting the country… Wo ntina
rld v
Cup s Eng
Cheering for Argentina.’ 198 land.
6

m, London
Emirates Stadiu
 His number 10 shirt became a material object to signify him, Similar social responses have occurred with other football shirts but for different
becoming a prominent object in stands, parades and homes. The reasons. When Marc Vivien Foe collapsed and died in a match representing Cameroon,
fetish quality of the thing is the fascination for it that arises out his number 23 shirt for club side Manchester City was retired in a mark of respect to the
of its properties but is expressed over and beyond its simple player. And this was not an uncommon case. Letting no other player be associated with
appropriation. The object attracts more attention than either that number and that shirt again, fetishizes the shirt in that it has become a mark of the
its exchange value or use value warrants. A fetish is created past and an entity that will no longer be replicated, giving it a value far greater than was
through the veneration or worship of the object that is attributed intended.
some power or capacity, independently of its manifestation of
that capacity. The object will for example influence the lives of sley
Barn off 06
-
its human worshippers, determining some of their actions and Play shirt, 20
l
fina
modifying their beliefs. This is never more evident than in the
religion created by Hernan and Alejandro Veron, founders of The
Church of Maradona. Maradona is revered as the God and their
Christmas is celebrated on 30th October, Maradona’s Birthday
and the number 10 shirt dominates the decor. Even professional
football players have flocked to the church.
y
on
em
er
ac
on
ad
arM
of
ch
ur
Ch

It is common now for older football shirts to be collected, and

exhibited often because of the player that actually wore it in a
specific memorable match. Situating shirts in this museum like
context makes them like an artefact, and one that cannot be
86
p 19 bought for a standard shirt price. The physical relationship of
Cu
o rld touch and sight is accompanied by the object coming into the
a, W
on
rad acre of its possessor; given space not abused, used with respect,
Ma
protected from weather and damage. The shirts transform
In the work of Marx the term ‘fetishism’ is used to identify a misunderstanding of the into fossils of times before, triggering memories for fans who
world in which properties are attributed that can only be attributed to human beings. spectated and players who participated. A physical memory of
However in this case, the shirt is worshipped as it a signifier of the human (Maradona), joy, happiness, sadness or anger. The same can be said for football
they know the shirt cannot take on human capabilities but it is a visual representation artefacts such as match programmes, badges and match tickets.
of what he did, what he believed in. The public use of an object displays its capabilities When possession becomes a passion, the need for the object
to others who might then desire to use the same object. It is through these practices that can be satisfied by the possession of a succession of objects – a
objects become fascinating, acquire a special status and become revered. collection.
 THE FINAL SCORE
Throughout this essay, you can see how sport, in particular football, is a stand out,
cultural example of material culture in use. It locates identity in situe with local
geography and ideology. The significance of clothing, both in colour and fashion centres
upon an affirmation of faith, an element of identity, both personal and collective. It
shows how branding and advertisement can confuse clothing for the wearer in that
there is no clear relationship between the signifier and signified. Are they supporting
the written object or the design of the object? We can also see examples of how objects
that are shown extremely in the public domain can subconsciously be given an artificial
but emotional attachment, serving to a value that is greater than their intended use i.e.
fetishisized. It shows how social identity both as an individual and as a group, can have
many controlling factors, some of which challenge and change cultural norms, but most
of which reinforce them.

The Kop, Anfield, Liv

erpool, 2010
 Video
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