Admiral Book Shortlisted for Sports Book Award
- andr71
- 1 day ago
- 1 min read
I’m pleased to share that Admiral: 50 Years of the Replica Shirt has been shortlisted for the 2025 Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards. It’s a significant recognition for a book that explores how Admiral redefined not just the football kit, but the cultural meaning of sportswear itself.
I contributed a chapter to the book titled Admiral and the Aesthetic Merit of Design, which examines how Admiral broke from the functional, conservative approach of earlier kit manufacturers like Umbro and turned sportswear into a site of radical design experimentation. Drawing on the brand’s extensive archive, I explore how design decisions at Admiral were shaped by shifts in legislation, fabric technology, and youth consumer culture during the 1970s.
In many ways, Admiral's approach mirrored couture rather than teamwear, with highly detailed, pattern-cut, colour-saturated kits such as the one worn by West Ham in the 1975–76 European Cup Final. Their strategy of embedding aesthetic novelty into kit design wasn’t just about selling to clubs, it was aimed squarely at children, the real consumers of replica kits, growing up in a newly colourised world of TV, toys, and consumer choice.
What’s particularly fascinating is how Admiral’s decision to reposition the football shirt as an aesthetic object helped catalyse the conditions for the casual subculture — and laid the groundwork for today's obsession with branded sportswear. Their designs helped transform the football kit into a powerful symbol of identity, taste, and belonging.
You can read more about the nomination here, and the book is available via Admiral’s website.
