In their own words, the burgeoning Spanish creative collective break down their origins and the evolution of their now signature button-down styles as they release volume three.
For the third summer in row, Equipo FC have upcycled some of the most eye-catching past and present football jerseys by slashing them right down the middle. What is sacrilege to some fans serves as a handy solution for others concerned about the millions of football jerseys in landfill, according to multiple sources, and those who’ve simply outgrown the original fit. Hand-sewn and fitted with buttons to boldly move the act of upcycling a football jersey beyond mere patchwork panels, most of these summer shirts are unique and single unit.
The reworked Barcelona 2008-2009 shirt (already sold out) pops in the sun-kissed campaign, which is more than just a series of postcard-worthy shots of women showcasing the colourful football creations. They’re inspirational too because, with “Blokecore” still trending, Equipo FC’s summer shirts clearly maximise a football jersey’s styling potential and any doubts about wearing them to the beach are eliminated.
In a sea of new season football jersey launches, Equipo FC’s latest summer shirts also make waves because the collective moved fast. There’s a whole host of 2024/2025 home jerseys for Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle, and more of Europe’s top teams upcycled on their website already, offering an original and equally collectable alternative to the standard kit.
Below, in their own words, Equipo FC retrace the steps and breakthrough moments that got them to where they are today. Then the Spanish collective reflect on how their passion for football fuels their creativity.
“Equipo FC started as the signature for the content we developed attending England's football matches. Eventually we found an insight about how we keep kits that we’ve had since we were young even if they no longer fit. In 2019, we started upcycling these football kits and transformed them into tote bags. That was our first hit because we sold them internationally. From that point on, we’ve been experimenting with product creation in many disciplines: kit design, jewellery, pottery, and lifestyle garments.
“At the same time, we’ve developed Equipo FC as a brand by making communication campaigns for other brands or clubs who liked how we showcased our own products. That is the reason why we are a creative studio as well and we work with a few La Liga teams like Real Betis and Osasuna and brands like Kappa.
“Our name ‘Equipo’ means team in Spanish and that is the only permanent thing in any club – they are a team. For the FC part, those letters can mean whatever we want: football club, fashion club... Equipo FC is not a typical brand.”
“We are football kit collectors so we have a lot of jerseys at the studio. We like to innovate and see how we can wear our jerseys in many different ways, and these shirts were one of those tests. The first prototype was made with a Roma kit but we kept it low-key to see how we could drop it in a nice way. Around the same time, we did the launch campaign for a Real Betis Kappa kit and we met Héctor Bellerín. Months after, Betis made it to the La Copa del Rey final and we sent Bellerín a shirt made with the kit from the last time Betis won that competition. He wore it for the celebration and everything blew up. Since then, we’ve dropped our summer shirts every summer.
“We like to keep the storytelling around the summer shirts similar. All three drops have Mediterranean coast vibes with three elements: the environment, cool jerseys, and the model. The aim of this specific campaign is to be very transparent and clear about the summer concept. We’re proud of the vintage ones because they are hard to find and we managed to get a cool selection with iconic pieces like FCB 2008 and Real Madrid 1994. As for models, we try to change and use people with different aesthetics.”
“These shirts are for anyone who loves their team and wants to take that feeling everywhere. We also attract people who love fashion and are interested in ‘Blokecore’ – that’s why we have a wide range of teams available. The main factor to determine the pricing is the cost of each kit as they are the base for our creative upcycling. Some of them are hard to find and prices vary.
“Our connection to football is very clear: we love football jerseys and want to take them to new contexts away from the pitch. For other drops, we are more focused on the concept or a specific football culture insight, but this one is different. We hand-pick a selection of vintage kits, usually around 15 units, because we want to keep them exclusive without overloading items. All of our clothes are genderless. Football is something that all genders love so there is no reason to make any difference.”
Shop the full summer shirts collection at tienda.equipofc.com
