The Umbro brand is marking its 100th anniversary with a dedicated archive exhibition at the University of Westminster in London’s Marylebone.
Umbro 100: Sportswear x Fashion Exhibition – Westminster Menswear Archive will run from 12-28 April and will explore 100 years of British sportswear and its influence on fashion.
Curated by Professor Andrew Groves and Dr Danielle Sprecher, it will be presented in five sections – Manchester, England, Tailored, Replica and Diamond.
According to Westminster Menswear Archive, Umbro, which was founded in Manchester in 1914, has helped evolve sportswear from its functional, athletic, and sporting roots to become “the daily uniform for billions of people around the world”, reported The Industry.Fashion.
The exhibition will point to Umbro’s collaboration with Paul Smith in 2002 as the start of the now ubiquitous trend for sportswear companies collaborating with fashion brands and designers.
Examples from collaborations with brands and designers including Christopher Raeburn, Supreme, Palace and Vetements among others will be on display, while there will also be archive football shirts from Manchester United, Manchester City, Ajax, England and Scotland, as well as sportswear from 1936 to the present day, including items created for athletics, boxing, hockey and basketball.
“We are thrilled that Westminster Menswear Archive has placed its exhibition spotlight on Umbro in the brand’s centenary year,” commented Anthony Little, global md at Umbro. “It’s the perfect way to chronicle the brand’s design achievements whilst underlining the pivotal part Umbro has played in bringing sportswear into the global fashion trend narrative.”
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