The Westminster Menswear Archive has contributed key garments to the exhibition 100% UNOFFICIAL: The Fabric of Fandom, which is taking place as part of the British Textile Biennial 2025. The exhibition explores how football supporters have used clothing to express their individuality, allegiance and resistance, from early fan-made garments designed to be worn to the match, to bootleg gear that rivals official club merchandise, and contemporary works that challenge football’s social and cultural boundaries.
Curated by OOF, an Italian fashion brand specialised in outerwear and accessories, the exhibition brings together work by more than 30 artists and designers, displayed alongside artefacts from public and private collections including the National Football Museum and the Westminster Menswear Archive.
Loans from the Westminster Menswear Archive include a 1970s Wrangler denim jacket customised with Manchester United embroidered patches, graffiti-covered overalls worn by a Tottenham Hotspur fan to the 1974 UEFA Cup Final, and two jacquard pieces from Liam Hodges’s 2016 collection reworking 1990s football graphics. Also featured are an England shirt reworked by HUMAN2 during the 2022 World Cup to highlight Qatar’s human rights record, and a shirt by Westminster Menswear MA graduate Hattie Crowther that critiques racism within football fandom.
The exhibition also includes Fragile Football Shirt by Jamie Backshall, another Menswear MA graduate, reflecting on his experience in academy football and the pressures of masculinity within the sport.
Professor Andrew Groves, Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, said: “Football and fashion are deeply entwined, and this exhibition captures how clothing has been used to express allegiance, identity and resistance. We are proud to see our alumni and our collection contribute to this important cultural conversation.”
Founded in 2016, the Westminster Menswear Archive is the UK’s dedicated national menswear collection, holding more than 3,000 garments that support teaching, research and exhibitions.
The exhibition opened on 2 October and will run until 2 November at Turton Tower in Bolton.
Find out more about Fashion courses at the University of Westminster.
Related articles
