\u201cThe idea was about three years in the making. Our arts organisation usually focuses on murals and creative projects, but we\u2019ve seen how sport, art, and fashion are increasingly intersecting,\u201d Clack says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe approached the William Morris Gallery early on after talking to Morris & Co, who felt football wasn\u2019t right for their brand, but the gallery was excited to collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Admiral-made kit has drawn attention across the football and fashion worlds, yet its story remains deeply grassroots, a non-league project powered by community and creativity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe funded everything ourselves, licensing, production, raising tens of thousands to bring this to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut seeing the kit featured in places like Soccer Bible made it all worth it. For us, it\u2019s more than just a kit; it\u2019s a creative project that produces products we can reinvest back into the community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The process of selecting a pattern involved careful input from the William Morris Gallery to make sure the design fit the club\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe worked with the curator at the gallery, and asked them to provide a shortlist of patterns we could choose from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI originally wanted something that tied in with the year the club was founded, 1886, but there wasn\u2019t a specific design from then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe ended up choosing a pattern by John Henry Dearle, because we also wanted to show that William Morris was more than just Morris, he had prot\u00e9g\u00e9s too. We trusted the curator\u2019s judgement and Admiral did a great job redrawing it all as a vector and turning it into something usable for the kit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Morris was born and raised in Walthamstow, where his gallery now stands, and it\u2019s this local significance that Clack believes makes these kits truly unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLoads of big football clubs are jumping on the bandwagon, dropping custom or collab kits, but a lot of the time there\u2019s not much local meaning behind them, it\u2019s more about revenue than real connection, they often lack substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that\u2019s what makes our collection stand out, it\u2019s cultural context, hyper-local, but with global appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The collection isn\u2019t just about Morris, with almost everyone involved coming from Walthamstow or the surrounding area, it\u2019s completely grounded in E17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think pretty much everybody was local, either to the borough or from Walthamstow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI lived in Walthamstow for 10 years and now live down the road in Leytonstone, the female model is Shornell, the chairman\u2019s daughter, and Jake, the photographer, is based in Leytonstone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe used local locations for the photoshoot, it was shot at the ground, the pie and mash shop in Walthamstow, and the William Morris Gallery. We didn\u2019t bring in anyone we didn\u2019t know, everyone genuinely bought into the project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite its deeply local roots and cultural significance, the collection has resonated far beyond Walthamstow and non-league, attracting a global audience and shipping products worldwide, as Clack explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe appeal of Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement is huge globally, especially in places like Asia. We\u2019ve shipped thousands of products worldwide, to nearly every US state, Asia, and Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re still small scale, but the art has a global reach. There\u2019s a real niche for exploring local history through this kind of project, where a gallery visitor might also discover their local football club.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The impact of the kit has even been documented in a YouTube short film, deeply exploring the story behind the collaboration and its remarkable impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/kitroomcollective\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2025\/06\/walth-4.jpg\")