Ajax and Daily Paper is the latest collaboration in the evolution of the Football Kit game.
This is opening up a real discussion for the future of Kit branding.
AFC Ajax has officially teamed up with high street and lifestyle brand, Daily Paper, for the 22/23 season.
This collaboration follows the blueprint of the Jordan X PSG partnership which started in 2018. This is where culture, community, fashion and sport are infused to create a moment in history. The unprecedented collab between Jordan X PSG practically saw 2 worlds seamlessly collide, disrupting the kit branding market forever. Despite the deal between PSG and Jordan only being exclusive for 4 seasons, the collaboration with Jordan has elevated PSG’s cultural status as they have now established themselves as the leading streetwear club in Europe. This has definitely opened the door for other popular brands to now enter the lucrative market for football kits and potentially even football boots as it is rumoured Mbappe will be the first player to don a Jordan Football boot. Jordan brand, which predominantly focuses on sneakers and streetwear, could soon begin producing football boots- demonstrating how much Football is truly a global game. The Daily Paper X Ajax is a fitting and welcoming addition to this evolution. It is a big move for the culture as it advances the relationship between sport, community and fashion.
Daily Paper is an Amsterdam-based lifestyle brand, fuelled richly by the African heritage of its three founders. The brand has gained popularity all over Europe in the last 10 years. Its contemporary designs, rich material and feel are some of the many reasons why a lot of ballers are well-versed with them. Daily Paper working with Adidas to produce not only their third kit but a pre-match collection pays tribute to the proud street football culture and the golden generation that it has fostered in Amsterdam.
The golden jersey features smoky black watermarks of 9 of Amsterdam’s most prominent street football courts which represent the stomping grounds for many of the up-and-coming ballers in Amsterdam. The football courts, ‘Pletinjes’ in Dutch, are infamous in Amsterdam for nurturing talents, improving technical skills and championing creativity. Ultimately, it provides inspiration to ballers to be themselves and create moments which underpin the attacking style and DNA of AFC Ajax.
The vertical strip, which dons the colours black and red, is a throwback to the red vertical strip on the iconic Ajax kit we saw the likes of Cruyff and Seerdorf play in. This along with the white crest and sponsor colours pay homage to the proud colours of the city flag. It also features the year Amsterdam was founded, 1275, and Pan-African colours representing the African heritage of Daily Paper. These small yet effective details make this collaboration well thought out and one for the people of Amsterdam to truly appreciate.
This collaboration along with Jordan x PSG has set a precedent for football kits today. We love the Amazon All or nothing and the behind scenes footage but working with a popular fashion brand is another step that clubs may take to advance their relationship with fans.
For now, let’s appreciate this well-thought-out partnership, rooted in inclusivity-bridging the gap between cultures. This is the Gold standard.