A match shirt in a class of its own

In the partnership between Nike and AIK, the ambition is clear: together to create the club’s best match shirt yet. A shirt that combines high demands on function and finish with the history and identity that players and supporters wear with pride.

The shirt is designed by Alexander Northon at Chanton. We are trusted to turn the design into a real match shirt. That means handling the transition from the proportions and details of the drawing to a finished garment that has to perform on the pitch. Every decision in production has to live up to the expectations that Nike and AIK have set together.

From design to execution

The starting point is Nike Vapor and Nike Park in black and white. Match shirts developed for football at the highest level, where material, fit and function meet the demands of elite players. Our task is to build on that foundation and carry out the changes that turn them into AIK’s match shirts.

A design shows what the end result should look like. In production we also need to work out how to get there: in which order the steps are carried out, how the materials work together and how the work can be repeated with the same precision throughout the run.

That takes an understanding of both the design and the construction of the garment. The shirt has to keep its functional properties while taking on a new expression.

A new construction at the neck and sleeves

The work begins with the re-sewing. The original crew neck is rebuilt into a V-neck with a collar and the sleeves get new cuffs in black with yellow details.

Changing a garment that is already finished places special demands. The way the collar is attached has to be adapted to the neck opening and the cuffs have to meet the sleeves without creating unwanted tension or affecting how the fabric falls. The seams have to be clean, the transitions smooth and the shape has to hold together when the shirt is worn.

This is where the design takes physical form. What is a line or a colour marking in the artwork becomes a seam, an edge and part of the player’s freedom of movement.

Applications with different requirements

Only when the sewing is finished are the club crest, Nike logo, sponsors and other details applied. The work is done by hand, one shirt at a time.

The applications differ in size, material and build-up. Temperature, pressing time and pressure are therefore adapted to the combination of application and base fabric. At the same time, the placement has to take size, seams and the shape of the garment into account.

The club crest with its wreath and star, the sponsor print on the chest and the smaller markings each have their place in the design. The task is to reproduce their relative proportions and spacing on the actual shirt, even as the work moves between different sizes.

The same standard from the first shirt to the last

A successful first shirt is the start of the assignment. After that, the finish has to hold throughout production.

The checks therefore follow the work step by step. The sewing is inspected before the applications go on. Placement and adhesion are checked before the garment leaves production. That way, deviations can be caught where they arise.

When the shirts are finished, the shared ambition of Nike and AIK has gone all the way from design artwork to match kit. Our contribution is the knowledge, craftsmanship and production work it takes to make it real.