The Beautiful Game
‘When people see us by the streets, they say that we are street boys. But when they see us playing soccer, they say that we are people like them. They are people like us.’
Thando, 14, Durban
As the World Cup opens this week in South Africa, thousands of replica shirts will be sold and worn by fans pledging their allegiance to their national side. A football kit or strip is an iconic piece of uniform.
In the 1800’s when the Football Association was first established players were only recognised by the colours they played in, there was no formal kit. A football kit, worn as a uniform, gives a sense of identity for the club, as well as a lucrative way to display sponsors ‘brand Manchester United’ can be seen all over the world.
For the past five years, East London based photographer Alan Powdrill, has followed weekend football leagues across the country capturing them in their kit. What has emerged is a powerful series of photographs documenting grass roots football. What is most striking about these images is how each strip unites the team and represents the town, city or nationality to which they belong.
‘It was especially true on Hackney Marshes, where there were players and teams representing every nationality, race and religion you can think of. It’s like an atlas down there- you’ve got Turkish teams, Jewish teams, Asian teams. It’s tribal but I’ve never seen evidence of clashes. They’re all there for the same reason.’
Alan Powdrill, The Independent on Sunday’ 23rd May 2010
A great example of football shirts bringing people together was when the Football Association decided to give away free t-shirts at the England v Mexico game at Wembley in May this year. Depending on where you were sitting you received a white or a red t-shirt. When the stadium was at full capacity a St Georges Cross emerged from the stands, unifying the crowd. This sports ‘uniform’ brought together over 60,000 people.
Alan Powdrill will be exhibiting at The Print Space Gallery, Shoreditch from 17th June – 13th July, all profits going to the Willow Foundation.
Reality Football
Street Child World Cup
The Independent
‘This is not a Suit’
Globally the word Suit suggests formality. The suit is more often than not the uniform of individuals who wish to be taken seriously. Commonly worn by businessmen and women around the world. It is believed by many that in today’s rocky economy, the caliber and cut of a suit can indicate whether one has just started out and has the ambition to climb the executive ladder
With this in mind Menswear label A. Sauvage hopes to determine whether the suit can support individualism or obscure it. Through a series of portraits
The setting, Venice Beach California head of design Adriene Sauvage identified with this area specifically because of its non- suit friendly reputation. This collection of images entitled ‘Natives’ was taken to demonstrate the personality beyond the garments to place them ‘out of context’.
The residents of Venice beach make up a diverse community of Surfers, muscle men and skateboarders. These individuals have selected garments from A.Sauvages’ first collection and have been given the freedom to express themselves, the question is; do they wear the suit does the suit wear them?
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