The orange shirt announces itself through a name and a number: DROGBA, 11. Green edges frame the sleeves. Laid inside its display, the garment keeps the folds that distinguish fabric from a flat graphic. The number follows the body that once gave this shape its meaning, even when that body is absent.
A different shirt offers a quieter set of clues: a generous collar, thin vertical stripes and the France crest. Football archives can be read through these small changes. A neckline or a typeface can bring an era to mind before a date is found.
These photographs are records of shirts encountered and kept in view around the House. They include existing football garments by other makers, as well as a personalised shirt carrying the name TANOH. They are references in an ongoing study of football dress.
Looking at them together reveals how much information a shirt can carry in very little space. Colour establishes allegiance; a number focuses attention; a collar changes the whole silhouette. The pleasure lies in looking closely enough to notice each decision.
From the House archive · The Proper Label®
