Nestled inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the contemporary OOF Gallery has featured in Champions Journal before, with their curated exhibitions highlighting the overlap between art and football. Their latest display is an ode to football shirts and how they have been an ideal, albeit unusual, vehicle for artistic self-expression.
It isn’t a surprise, really. Kits are designed to be unique, stand out and symbolise allegiance to a cause. This show, entitled ‘Tops Off: A Century of Football Shirt Art’, features some of the wackiest yet most beautifully distinctive takes on football clobber from artists across the world.
As you step inside, you are greeted by three glorious hand-painted jerseys, including a stunning Barcelona kit by Christian Jeffery with cubic patterns resembling a sea of steps in their claret and blue colourway. Jeffery, once a corporate kit designer, switched tracks and began meticulously crafting one-off shirts reflecting historical elements of fashion, art and design.
Nestled inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the contemporary OOF Gallery has featured in Champions Journal before, with their curated exhibitions highlighting the overlap between art and football. Their latest display is an ode to football shirts and how they have been an ideal, albeit unusual, vehicle for artistic self-expression.
It isn’t a surprise, really. Kits are designed to be unique, stand out and symbolise allegiance to a cause. This show, entitled ‘Tops Off: A Century of Football Shirt Art’, features some of the wackiest yet most beautifully distinctive takes on football clobber from artists across the world.
As you step inside, you are greeted by three glorious hand-painted jerseys, including a stunning Barcelona kit by Christian Jeffery with cubic patterns resembling a sea of steps in their claret and blue colourway. Jeffery, once a corporate kit designer, switched tracks and began meticulously crafting one-off shirts reflecting historical elements of fashion, art and design.
Elsewhere, an azure Nice third kit from last season pays homage to post-war minimalist Yves Klein, while Philip Colbert’s collaboration with Roma features his trademark quirky crustacean detailing on the numbers on the back of the jersey. The shirt was worn last season in a league game against Udinese. There is even an Ajax kit featuring Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night hanging from the ceiling – the ultimate art-meets-football mash-up.
The glittering centrepiece of the room is the work of Jason Lee. His brilliant, gold Argentina jersey is a tribute to Lionel Messi, who features in hologram form on the back, the legend’s face embedded within the number 10 below his name, visible only when light hits it at a certain angle.
And there’s more. Jonathan Monk’s sprawling map of the world is made out of shirt fragments, illustrating the global nature of club brands. Meanwhile, Leo Fitzmaurice’s massive collection of cigarette packets folded carefully into mini football kits is plastered on all four walls of the gallery’s second room, each one exploring a different theme, from aesthetics and capitalism to self-destruction and symbolism.
Designer kits, glitzy shirt reveals and fashion-forward collaborations have become an integral part of the football cultural landscape in recent years. This exhibition demonstrates that the symbolic power of the football shirt runs much deeper than whatever the latest fad on social media might be.
Nestled inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the contemporary OOF Gallery has featured in Champions Journal before, with their curated exhibitions highlighting the overlap between art and football. Their latest display is an ode to football shirts and how they have been an ideal, albeit unusual, vehicle for artistic self-expression.
It isn’t a surprise, really. Kits are designed to be unique, stand out and symbolise allegiance to a cause. This show, entitled ‘Tops Off: A Century of Football Shirt Art’, features some of the wackiest yet most beautifully distinctive takes on football clobber from artists across the world.
As you step inside, you are greeted by three glorious hand-painted jerseys, including a stunning Barcelona kit by Christian Jeffery with cubic patterns resembling a sea of steps in their claret and blue colourway. Jeffery, once a corporate kit designer, switched tracks and began meticulously crafting one-off shirts reflecting historical elements of fashion, art and design.
Nestled inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the contemporary OOF Gallery has featured in Champions Journal before, with their curated exhibitions highlighting the overlap between art and football. Their latest display is an ode to football shirts and how they have been an ideal, albeit unusual, vehicle for artistic self-expression.
It isn’t a surprise, really. Kits are designed to be unique, stand out and symbolise allegiance to a cause. This show, entitled ‘Tops Off: A Century of Football Shirt Art’, features some of the wackiest yet most beautifully distinctive takes on football clobber from artists across the world.
As you step inside, you are greeted by three glorious hand-painted jerseys, including a stunning Barcelona kit by Christian Jeffery with cubic patterns resembling a sea of steps in their claret and blue colourway. Jeffery, once a corporate kit designer, switched tracks and began meticulously crafting one-off shirts reflecting historical elements of fashion, art and design.
Nestled inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the contemporary OOF Gallery has featured in Champions Journal before, with their curated exhibitions highlighting the overlap between art and football. Their latest display is an ode to football shirts and how they have been an ideal, albeit unusual, vehicle for artistic self-expression.
It isn’t a surprise, really. Kits are designed to be unique, stand out and symbolise allegiance to a cause. This show, entitled ‘Tops Off: A Century of Football Shirt Art’, features some of the wackiest yet most beautifully distinctive takes on football clobber from artists across the world.
As you step inside, you are greeted by three glorious hand-painted jerseys, including a stunning Barcelona kit by Christian Jeffery with cubic patterns resembling a sea of steps in their claret and blue colourway. Jeffery, once a corporate kit designer, switched tracks and began meticulously crafting one-off shirts reflecting historical elements of fashion, art and design.
Elsewhere, an azure Nice third kit from last season pays homage to post-war minimalist Yves Klein, while Philip Colbert’s collaboration with Roma features his trademark quirky crustacean detailing on the numbers on the back of the jersey. The shirt was worn last season in a league game against Udinese. There is even an Ajax kit featuring Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night hanging from the ceiling – the ultimate art-meets-football mash-up.
The glittering centrepiece of the room is the work of Jason Lee. His brilliant, gold Argentina jersey is a tribute to Lionel Messi, who features in hologram form on the back, the legend’s face embedded within the number 10 below his name, visible only when light hits it at a certain angle.
And there’s more. Jonathan Monk’s sprawling map of the world is made out of shirt fragments, illustrating the global nature of club brands. Meanwhile, Leo Fitzmaurice’s massive collection of cigarette packets folded carefully into mini football kits is plastered on all four walls of the gallery’s second room, each one exploring a different theme, from aesthetics and capitalism to self-destruction and symbolism.
Designer kits, glitzy shirt reveals and fashion-forward collaborations have become an integral part of the football cultural landscape in recent years. This exhibition demonstrates that the symbolic power of the football shirt runs much deeper than whatever the latest fad on social media might be.
Nestled inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the contemporary OOF Gallery has featured in Champions Journal before, with their curated exhibitions highlighting the overlap between art and football. Their latest display is an ode to football shirts and how they have been an ideal, albeit unusual, vehicle for artistic self-expression.
It isn’t a surprise, really. Kits are designed to be unique, stand out and symbolise allegiance to a cause. This show, entitled ‘Tops Off: A Century of Football Shirt Art’, features some of the wackiest yet most beautifully distinctive takes on football clobber from artists across the world.
As you step inside, you are greeted by three glorious hand-painted jerseys, including a stunning Barcelona kit by Christian Jeffery with cubic patterns resembling a sea of steps in their claret and blue colourway. Jeffery, once a corporate kit designer, switched tracks and began meticulously crafting one-off shirts reflecting historical elements of fashion, art and design.
