Every so often a collaboration catches me off guard and makes me think: WTF?! Even then, UNDEFEATED, the Los Angeles-based sneaker boutique, being revealed as the new creative director of Birmingham City Football Club really does take the biscuit, I admit.
When I heard the news last month that KidSuper (the guy who guest-designed a collection for Louis Vuitton earlier this year) was making kits for Barnsley FC, I was certain that wouldn't get topped. Alas, here we are.
The UNDEFEATED appointment, which was announced on July 26 via the club’s official website, will see the streetwear label steer all future strategic merchandise and other marketing projects between the brand and the Club from here on, according to a statement, as well as implementing its iconic five-strike logo onto the team’s 2023/24 jerseys.
Now, considering that the relationship between football and fashion has become customary nowadays, this collaboration shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Yet, it still baffles me.
Perhaps what I’m finding most perplexing is the fact that UNDEFEATED specifically chose Birmingham City FC to team up with, a club that’s been lingering in the second tier of English football for over a decade and showing no signs of moving.
Throwing no shade to Birmingham here, but riddle me this: there are plenty of other more appealing clubs to throw your streetwear nous at, sides that haven’t been languishing in the abyss for a minute, sides that haven't endured copious amounts of ownership problems in the past. So why them?
I don't want to come across as a bitter fan from another team, it's just puzzling. Still, Brum or not, the introduction of UNDEFEATED into the world of football merchandise — one so often filled with cheap materials and lazy designs — can only be seen as a good move, but also bizarrely random.
I suppose one thing is for sure, though: it'll be the only time the word "undefeated" will be used to accurately describe Birmingham City FC this season, let me tell you.
