Fashion has always been interested in sports but in recent decades, sports, particularly football, are influencing fashion in all sorts of creative ways.
In 2016 for example, Dolce & Gabbana’s autumn-winter (AW) haute couture show featured a replica of the great Diego Maradona’s Napoli jersey. More recently, Stella McCartney in her AW 23 collection featured athletic styles, sporty jerseys and jumpsuits. Soccer-inspired gear is a continuing trend regularly seen on celebrities including Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne and Rihanna.
Football colours, cultural and tribal signifiers, have always been a source of pride and identity and in the 1970s supporters began to blend sportswear with fashion. Designers like Virgil Abloh at Off-White, and Demna at Vetements, forged partnerships with Umbro and Reebok.
But it was David Beckham who tore into conventional stereotypes of football fans in the 1990s and 2000s, a trailblazer with his hairbands, sarongs, nail varnish and Gucci leather outfits. It led to a huge number of brand partnerships, notably with Adidas, Hugo Boss and H&M, and paved the way for today’s fashion football icons. Profits continue to surge at the former footballer’s branded businesses, highlighting the continuing popularity of the Beckham brand.
Greg Hall is the founder of Pellador FC, a fledgling Irish sportswear brand already making a big impact. He references Beckham and remembers how all he and his friends wanted to do growing up in Cratloe in Co Clare was play soccer and GAA. “I was always into the whole culture and style around the sport,” he says. That nostalgia informs his designs.
Now based in Limerick, his collection of knitwear, tracksuits and training gear is notable not just for its innovative take on soccer gear, but also for the quality and finish of the garments. “You need fun design but especially with young customers when they hold them up and see how well they are made, it comes as a surprise,” he says.
The day we meet he is wearing a red jumper with chess motifs (he’s a keen chess player) drawn from Fidchell (an ancient Celtic board game predating chess), and a zany Oakley Torpedo watch. He delves deep into Celtic symbols, Irish culture and myths in research for his work, but uses them in modern ways.
As a child in Cratloe (“a good hurling village and known for traditional music”) he was “really creative” at school, always drawing, and so passionate about music and music production that he ended up studying music in UCC. He also started getting into graphic design and software, and joined an event company where he developed that interest for a further two years.
This led to experiments with screen printing graphics and T-shirts and hoodies with Irish symbols like Celtic knotting with a tabletop screen printer at home. He sold these online. “The references were all from my childhood – football shirts and knitted vests – and so I started Pellador.” The name comes from peileadóir, the Irish for footballer. That was in November 2022. Initially, he sold at open markets in Limerick and online.
“Design is changing constantly, and trends are evolving fast now, but I think people want long-lasting staples to counteract fast-moving trends.”
He wants his collection to feature some pieces with “a wow factor”, but also include some basics.
One of his first jacquard knits inspired by the Italia ‘90 World Cup jersey was purchased by Emer Keating, menswear buying manager for Brown Thomas and Arnotts. This led to an order from the department store for his brand, a huge endorsement for an Irish start-up. “I was struck by his distinctive point of view,” says Keating. “He seamlessly blends contemporary design with a deep sense of nostalgia and that unique mix of freshness and heritage felt really relevant. I knew it would resonate with customers.”
Hall has found suppliers in three different factories in Portugal, Turkey and China. Last July he showed in Paris at the Impossible Objects streetwear showroom.
“I am now looking to do more formal wear – shirts and suits – and am working on a collection together with Molly Walters, an Irish designer working in Lisbon,” he says.
Pellador is certainly kicking above its weight with its vintage soccer aesthetic – direct sales are strong and often sell out. Hall has also shown his collection at Dublin Fashion Week and had a successful London launch in the family-owned Skehan’s pub in Peckham – “the owner is from Limerick”, Hall smiles.
As a self-funded entrepreneur, he intends to keep reinvesting in the business “and keep going. My main goal is to get better as a designer. Usually, I can visualise the design, then I do digital sketches and write concepts and then make a flat lay [an image shot directly from above]. I am still learning.”
- Prices start at €32 for caps, €105 for mohair knits and cable knits, and €130 for county knits. Available from pellador.com and in Brown Thomas menswear department.
