Erreà's perfect season

Over the past few months thanks to the various releases we have reviewed and evaluated the work of all the brands, from the big ones dealing with the most decorate teams to the smaller ones present in the less followed leagues. If for adidas we can speak of a return to the past with collars and patterns that have received great appreciation among insiders and non-insiders alike, Nike on the other hand has focused everything on a template like the old days, while for Macron it seems to be the season of patterns, PUMA and Kappa have proved adept at mixing innovation and heritage, Erreà cannot be classified in any macro trend or particular feature. This is not because the Italian brand, born in Parma in 1988, has not been able to develop a unique narrative; on the contrary, it has been able to adapt to each individual team, working on their needs, tailoring designs and patterns perfectly consistent with the history and tradition of the city and the team.

With more than 50 teams sponsored in the football world alone, not to mention the many other sports in which Erreà is more than a protagonist such as volleyball, rugby and basketball, the Italian brand has been able to carve out a huge slice of the market, undermining the work of other brands. In fact, a peculiarity of the brand's roster is the type of teams: most are medium or small clubs that cannot aspire to an elite contract with a big brand but neither do they want to settle for a basic supply with already pre-established models. Erreà following this pattern has increased its presence in the market, the best example being Sheffield United, one of England's oldest clubs, which just this year switched from adidas to the Italian brand. But beyond design and pattern, another important feature of the brand is that it is the first Oeko-Tex certified company in the Teamwear sector, guaranteeing fabrics that do not release harmful substances in quantities exceeding the limits set by the Oeko-Tex standard 100. 

The Italian brand has reached a number of sponsored clubs that can challenge the duopoly Nike and adidas, but compared to the two giants, it lacks a club that can give it the right visibility in the most challenging stages, from the Champions League to its home league, Serie A. Even in comparison with other Italian brands such as Kappa and Macron, the two that sponsor the most teams in the top division, this season it has shown that it has nothing less in terms of design and jersey technology, also standing out for its communication on the social side, which is always well taken care of and like a well-defined aesthetic.

Another point in favor of the Italian brand in fact is to put all its teams on the same level, reserving the same strategy for both clubs playing in more prestigious categories down to the lowest ones. The prime example is undoubtedly the new Calcio Catania, with which it closed a deal in record time, considering that Pelligra's club had to start from scratch after the court last December declared the Etna team bankrupt. For the Rossoazzurri, Erreà, helped in creating an ad hoc campaign based on the team's renewed claim "Melior de cinere surgo," bringing back that turquoise on the jerseys that other brands had gradually turned more and more blue. 

But in addition to Catania, Erreà has also made striking jerseys for Como, signed and created by the Italian brand and designed by Golnaz Jabelli, designer of the brand Didit Hediprasetyo. In their first collaboration, Jabelli and Erreà created a design that takes inspiration from the tranquility and serenity of the lake, transferring to the kit the variety of water texture and the structural compactness of marble so as to convey a sense of intense energy. Another set of the most striking kits in Serie B are surely those made by Cittadella, which, thanks to Erreà, has succeeded in the arduous feat of freshening up an often anonymous jersey. All three jerseys are strongly linked to the city, from the home to the third all taking up the most characteristic architectural elements of the Veneto town.

Even outside the country's borders the brand's excellent work has not gone unnoticed, from QPR to Middlesbrough, the latter a welcome return since it had already been Boro's technical sponsor for fifteen years. Long term planning and seriousness work, according to a business model hinged on lasting commercial relationships is still a great way to beat the competition. Another design that you surely missed is that of Port Vale, whose jerseys both home and away rightfully fall in the list of the best of the season.

While we wait to see the developments in the coming years, whether the brand will be able to maintain but more importantly consolidate this status, this season Erreà has bordered on perfection, making little to no mistakes. A further confirmation of how much that family tradition we had the opportunity to see with our own eyes a few months ago defines the atmosphere in San Polo di Torrile to then be transformed into non-trivial game kits, linked to the identity of the city according to history and tradition but with an eye to the future and innovation.