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- 2010 (Creation)
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Humphreys Brothers Clothing was founded as a sportswear company in 1920 by Harold Humphreys (1902–74) and Wallace Humphreys (1900–50) in a workshop in Wilmslow, Cheshire. On 23 May 2024, the company name was changed to “Humphreys Brothers Limited” and they began manufacturing sportswear using Umbro as their brand name, combining the UM from Humphreys and the BRO from Brothers. Initially focused on football shirts, Umbro expanded into rugby jerseys and socks by 1933. Umbro first gained national recognition in 1934, when club Manchester City won the FA Cup wearing Umbro Tangeru jerseys made of Peruvian Pima cotton.
As with many British apparel manufacturers, Umbro shifted production to military uniforms during the Second World War. Following the war, as football’s popularity grew globally, they expanded their business by providing kits for teams worldwide. Umbro began producing unofficial replica kits aimed at children in 1956 under the name SPORTSWEAR Xmas Pack, which included a shirt, shorts and socks in the team’s official colours. Seven of the sixteen competitors at the 1966 World Cup wore Umbro kits, including the winning England team, further stimulating the company’s replica shirt business. The relaxation of rules by the Football Association in 1977 regarding sponsorship saw the market in replica football kits rapidly expand, and it became increasingly essential to Umbro’s business in the following decades. In 1992, the Humphreys family sold the business to Stone Manufacturing, an underwear manufacturer based in South Carolina, and closed its factories in Macclesfield and Stockport the same year. Umbro was sold to venture capitalist firm Doughty Hanson & Co. for £90 million in 1999. The company signed a £60 million kit sponsorship and merchandising deal with football club Manchester United in 1996, the largest deal ever signed by a British sportswear company. Later that year, Umbro signed a £20 million kit sponsorship deal with Chelsea Football Club. In 2003, the Office of Fair Trading concluded an investigation into price fixing on replica football shirts, fining companies including JJB Sports, Manchester United and the Football Association £18.6 million. Umbro was fined £6.64 million. Umbro agreed to a
£285 million takeover bid from Nike in 2007; however, Nike sold the company to the American Iconix Brand Group in 2012. Notably, Umbro collaborated with menswear designer Kim Jones (b. 1973) on a series of collections between 2004 and 2007. It was the beginning of the company’s relationships with other fashion designers, including Aitor Throup, Philip Treacy, Peter Saville, R. Newbold, Palace, John Smedley, Patta, House of Holland, Off-White, Vetements, Supreme, Christopher Raeburn and JUUN.J.
Sources: The Times.
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Country of Design: United Kingdom
Country of Manufacture: Indonesia
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Note
The Peter Saville England kit was first worn on 3 September 2010 when England played Bulgaria for their opening qualification game for Euro 2012.
The text that follows is from the Umbro press release:
As England look to the start of their campaign for Euro 2012, we’re very excited to announce a new deal between the Football Association and Umbro, that will see us working together until at least 2018. At the same time, we can also reveal a new home kit that the team will wear as they battle for a place in the finals.
Giving the team a fresh new look, the new home shirt builds on the tailored principles behind the previous shirt and the current away kit, using the latest in design technology whilst adding a new, colourful graphic design to the template.
So what’s the thinking behind this design? The idea, another innovative approach to football kit design from Umbro, is inspired by the involvement of a true cultural icon in this particular project. Peter Saville – iconic graphic designer and all-round cultural connoisseur – has designed a special fabric print for the new kit, which features on the shoulder panels of the shirt.
Saville – who initially made his name through his work with Factory Records, and is now recognised as one of Britain’s leading creative minds – has crafted this design through a consideration of England’s cultural makeup. Inspired by the increasingly diverse fabric of England, the design takes the traditional St. George’s cross and reinterprets it as a reoccurring motif in four different colours – the traditional red, blue and green which feature in England’s three lions crest, plus a blend of all three which comes out as a striking purple.
Players names will appear within the fabric, to underline how they’re a part of the fabric of modern England. The shirt itself is inspired by the formal designs in England’s past, combined with the latest in design innovation.
Inspired by the idea behind this cultural fabric, we decided to reveal the new kit on a special England team line-up that you can see at the top of the page, made up of some of the best young footballing talent in the country. Alongside established names such as Rooney and Joe Hart, we’ve also picked out players such Jade Bailey, one of the best prospects in the England Women’s team, and Eric Dier, an English teenager playing abroad in Portugal.
Together, they epitomise the different ideas on what it means to be English that the new fabric of England represents. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a closer look at the kit itself, the players we’ve chosen and the man who’s designed it, ahead of the shirt going on sale on October 12th. Ahead of that, you can see the kit being worn for the first time when England take on Bulgaria in their opening Euro 2012 game this Friday.
Taking its inspiration from traditional formal shirts from England's past, the new England home shirt is constructed from two cotton based fabrics - a thicker one offering protection on the front and back, and a more flexible material providing movement order the arm,
Featuring the New Fabric of England graphic design on the shoulder, the shirt also features a new longer, more open neckline, which provides greater movement across the chest. With the traditional England crest and the Umbro double diamond embroidered on the chest, the new England home shirt mixes the best in design innovation with a strong link to our footballing heritage.
Note
Invisible Men exhibition label:
ENGLAND ANTHEM JACKET
Umbro
2010
This anthem jacket was designed by Peter Saville to be worn by the England players during the singing of the national anthem before the start of the Euro 2012 qualifying games. Saville developed the traditional St. George's cross and reinterpreted it in four different colours to represent the country's diverse cultural composition.
Cotton, polyester, spandex
Archive no. 2018.35
Note
From Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive:
ENGLAND ANTHEM JACKET
Umbro
2010
Manchester-based sportswear company Umbro commissioned Mancunian Peter Saville to design England’s 2010–11 home kit, which included this anthem jacket. Saville reimagined the traditional St George’s cross in four distinct hues to represent the cultural diversity of the nation. It was referred to as the New Fabric of England and used the colours from the traditional England three lions crest – red, blue and green – as well as purple, which is a combination of all three. The anthem jacket was worn by the England team during the singing of the national anthem prior to the start of Euro 2012 qualifying matches. Saville also designed a fashion line called the Umbro Modern England Collection to accompany the England kit.
Cotton, Polyester, Spandex
Archive no. 2018.35