Aries Made Streetwear for The Arsenal Faithful
Aries and Arsenal both have individual track records of skillfully combining football and fashion. So, before I even laid eyes on their first collaboration, I had a feeling it would deliver.
Their 26-piece collection spans clothing, accessories, and jewelry, focusing on co-branded graphics bound to please the Arsenal faithful: football fans are a notoriously nostalgic bunch and this drop looks back at the club’s founding year, its original Highbury stadium, and archive club crests.
Some of Aries' attempts to win over Arsenal supporters (better known as Gooners) are less subtle, however, with “J’adoro Arsenal” spelled out on one graphic print.
Made for off-the-pitch wear, only one football shirt is included in the vast selection. Offered in red (Arsenal’s home colors) with a lightning-bolt pattern reminiscent of Arsenal’s 1995-96 kit, it’s by no means up to the technical standards of modern professional football shirts, but it’ll do the job in a casual five-a-side game.
To memorialize this historic moment — it is Arsenal’s first-ever independent streetwear partnership and Aries’ first foray into the Premier League — Aries and Arsenal brought together a legendary cast.
Current first-team players (Martin Odegaard, Alessia Russo, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and Beth Mead) model in the campaign alongside some big-name Arsenal supporters in the form of Ghetts, ShyGirl, Lava La Rue, Kaya Scodelario, Clive Palmer, and Knucks. Members of the London City Voices choir complete the selection.
Ahead of Arsenal's home match with Southampton on October 5, this collection is available at the Arsenal club store, Aries Flagship store, and select retailers including the Highsnobiety Shop.
“Our collaboration with Aries is a celebration of two brands, rooted in London culture coming together to create something unique for our supporters," says Adam Gardiner, Marketing Director at Arsenal. "This is another first where fashion meets Arsenal in a way that's distinctive to our club. It's been a pleasure to work together to craft a collection that puts our supporters and players at the heart of our creativity.”
Aries x Arsenal adds weight to two theories I will happily argue over till the cows come home: Aries knows how to make beautiful football merch and Arsenal is the UK’s most fashionable football team.
And I have evidence to back up both of those sweeping statements: just cast your eyes upon Aries' Umbro collaboration or the kits it made for AS Roma; and then, name one other English football team hosting fashion shows or getting buzzy talent like Ciesay from PLACES+FACES to shoot campaigns.
Football and fashion are more intertwined than ever and this collection combines two brands at the forefront of the colliding worlds.
