The tracksuit is now a wardrobe staple: where does this trend come from?
We've long since gotten used to dressing in athletic clothes when we don't play sports. We go to work in baseball caps, go out to dinner in soccer cleats, and get ready for the day in tracksuits. Among the most popular sports are basketball and tennis, but soccer has recently been gaining ground, especially with the t-shirt trend. vintage of football kits as street clothes, under the so-called trend blockcoreBut while urban fashion is taking over sportswear, it's worth noting that sportswear was also inspired by much older styles to create its essence.
In the mid-19th century, when football was just beginning to take shape, each player wore their own uniform, without coordinating with the team. Players quickly realized the need for uniforms to prevent members of the same team from too often taking the ball from each other. From 1870 onward, players created kits in the colors of the schools or clubs to which they belonged. By the end of the 19th century, each team had its own design, and the idea of a second kit was born, first for the home team and eventually for the away team. But since jerseys wouldn't incorporate numbers until the mid-20th century, players were differentiated by the colors of their socks, headbands, or caps.
In the 1970s, the kits most valued by football fans today were created, coinciding with a time when jerseys of football idols began to go on sale, opening up a very important source of income for clubs. A marketing ploy that, on occasion, has forgotten the kit's true purpose. Just ask Manchester United, who never won a single match wearing their third kit in the 1995/96 season. The shirt in question was gray, and according to manager Alex Ferguson, it was the reason the team lost every time they wore it, as the color made the players invisible on the pitch. That's why, at halftime of a league match against Southampton, when they were losing 3-0, Ferguson had them swap the third kit for the second, and the team never wore that shirt again.
But what if the visibility of clothing, in addition to helping you win a match, was so decisive that it could save your life? This is the case of medieval knightly attire, which, as distant as it may seem, is a clear precursor to team sports uniforms. The heraldic system, which was first applied to shields and later extended to clothing, responded, among other things, to the need to identify warriors on the battlefield, thus avoiding unwittingly killing your friend. It was also fundamental in jousting, which were both individual and collective struggles essential to building a knight's prestige. Knights wore complex armor, which was a clear and exclusive sign of social recognition, but which had to be complemented by a coat of arms to identify the knight. The starting point of this visual system was personal heraldry, which determined family affiliation and legitimized their prestige. In the case of group fights, uniform outfits were created for both sides, linked to the coat of arms of the main knight. In addition, servants also wore their lord's coat of arms and colors, as a means of discipline and social arrogance to clearly demonstrate the knight's possessions.
The design of this clothing system featured a figurative symbol (the emblem), a phrase, and a set of colors (the livery), very similar to those of football teams, with a crest, a name (and even a motto), and colors. So, when we see a player kiss the crest and say that the team colors should be felt, let's be clear that there's less distance than we think between him and a medieval knight.