Behind The Design: Admiral and Munidal with Bob Marley
The Inspiration
Exploring the vast photographic chronicles of Bob Marley's life reveals an abundance of iconic imagery, especially showcasing his love for football. As a British brand we were drawn to his relationship with London and the visual recordings of Marley’s time in the capitol, using Battersea Park to let off some steam between recordings for the Exodus album. This time had a profound impact on the locals who still have the memories of joining in these kickabouts to this day.
Within these images some remarkable clothing items were revealed. On one occasion, Bob Marley was photographed wearing a tracksuit adorned with an M logo on the chest. Additionally, his band members were captured wearing yellow graphic t-shirts featuring Rico Rodriguez, the renowned Reggae trombonist.
Developing The Collection
Assisted by our friends at Mundial, we embarked on creating a collection inspired by these Bob Marley images. We carefully curated the collection to feature the Rico t-shirt, available in both long and short sleeves, alongside a tracksuit intended as the focal point of our capsule - a garment designed to encapsulate a moment from the life of the reggae icon. Additionally, as we are known for our football shirts, we aimed to introduce a home and away kit inspired by the Exodus album.
Marley Football Shirts
The Admiral design team undertook the challenge of developing a football shirt collection worthy of the great Bob Marley. Immediately we were drawn to colours synonymous with Marley and the entire Reggae movement - yellow, green, and red - to form the foundation of the home shirt. For the away shirt, we opted to incorporate the navy colour from the collection tracksuit into the kit.
To elevate the shirt design we delved into various sublimation pattern options. Drawing from the Admiral archive didn't quite fit the vision for this project, therefore we designed a bespoke pattern inspired by the title of the song 'Roots' from the Exodus Album. Our choice of sponsor also reflected the album's name, reinforcing the story of Marley’s time in London. To enhance coherence throughout the collection, we decided to integrate the main logo from the tracksuit piece into the kits.
These elements are complemented by the number 12 on both the front and back, a homage to Marley's jersey number while playing for the Am/Jam Team (America and Jamaica) against Haiti in Miami in 1980, which marked his final appearance in this football match.
The collection is now available here
Special thanks to the great Admiral development and design teams plus Mundial who are a joy to work with on projects such as this.
