“Current Players x Classic Kits” by James O'Mara

In the last few months, we've often talked about how the 80s and 90s vibes have made their comeback in the football world, with a number of different jerseys inspired, to a greater or lesser extent, by historic past kits. We saw it during Russia 2018, especially with the "Nostalgia Operation" by adidas Football and we're experiencing it also now since the vast majority of the jerseys launched for the next season are somehow inspired by old designs. 

Embracing the current passion for vintage football, James O'Mara - aka entiredesign - started drawing contemporary players wearing kits from the past, creating a real storytelling that brought him to collaborate with the biggest football jerseys retailer in the world: Classic Football Shirts. Fascinated by his portraits series “Current Players x Classic Kits”, we decided to contact him to discover how he had this idea and how he ended up working with CFS. Here's what he told us!

About a year ago, I decided to begin this project entitled “Current Players x Classic Kits”. Many of the kits I would see around looked boring, mere repetitions of the same template changed for every club. So I wanted to see how some of my favourite players would look wearing old kits. 

The first designs I made were very successful on social media, therefore I decided to keep doing them, which led me to where I'm now. Clients like 11teamsports, Aston Villa and adidas contacted me for different projects and this brought me to work full time as a graphic designer for Classic Football Shirts. 

For them I created all the latest projects I posted on Instagram. Possibilities and ideas are virtually endless and I enjoy doing what I do, so I'm not planning to stop very soon. Some brands, as adidas for the FIFA World Cup, started releasing their old designs with a modern touch and the result was great. This confirms my thought: everyone loves a classic! 

You can find all James O'Mara's works on his Instagram profile or on Classic Football Shirts'. Some of his works are purchasable as posters here.