2021 was the year of the return of the old logos on jerseys
From Italy to England to the Netherlands, almost all clubs have returned to the past
In 2017 Juventus presented its ultra-modern logo, a real revolution implemented with the main intention of representing the club in all its essence with a single symbol, from the stripes to the old Scudetto that has always characterised the Juventus logo. The new symbol has marked a clear break with the past, a stylised "J" that wants to represent not only a football team but also an identity, a belonging and a philosophy. A choice justified by president Agnelli as: "the result of a bold and uncompromising approach, which wants to go beyond the typical schemes of football tradition and expresses the courage of discontinuity".
Since that rebranding, it seemed that everything could change and that the Juventus club was destined to be a trailblazer, opening a new trend among clubs. A revolution that was also expected to affect Inter, who, after revolutionising the sporting area with Marotta and Conte, two of the architects of the Bianconeri's great successes of the last nine years, seemed to want to follow the path opened up by the Bianconeri, stylising their logo as minimally as possible, eliminating the spherical shape and leaving only the "I" and the "M". This was not the case, Studio Bureau Borsche remained faithful to tradition, simplifying some elements of the logo and leaving it in its original form. In spite of the various rebrandings that have been carried out, which were primarily motivated by a marketing need, given that the communication of clubs is now increasingly taking place on digital platforms and a logo that is too complex and full of realistic visual effects would lose its distinctiveness, the opposite trend has been observed on the shirts. Seven out of twenty Serie A teams have retro logos on their shirts, mostly used before the 1980s, but not only in Italy, many clubs abroad have done the same.
The world of fashion has also been influenced by this, with many brands reopening their archives and repurposing vintage collections and elements into new collections. Jean-Paul Gaultier, has announced a revamp of the brand's website where vintage and archive pieces will be available for sale and it will also be possible to rent some of the most iconic looks from the shows. Gucci did the same with its Gucci Vault, which opened its doors to the sale of its vintage pieces, an absolute first. A Lyst report shows a 321% increase in searches for recycled jeans and a 117% increase in demand for recycled items. Another figure that confirms this trend is the hashtag #deadstock on TikTok has generated 9.5 million views confirming how vintage has strongly influenced 2021.
From fashion to the playing field, this year in Italy alone Atalanta, Lazio, Roma, Fiorentina, Torino, Genoa and Udinese have put vintage logos on their shirts. Abroad, Arsenal have also done the same, not limiting themselves to the away shirt but releasing a whole collection inspired by the colours and pattern of the 90s. Swansea have announced a temporary rebranding for this season only, the Welsh club are using the old crest from 1992 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their historic promotion to the Premier League. Ajax in the Netherlands did the same, putting the logo adopted in 1928 on their first shirt, justifying their choice: "In a Johan Cruyff Arena without fans for almost the entire season, the 'old logo' was one of the few spectators at Ajax's home games. After such an unreal season, this historic logo will return to the home shirt, in what is a unique tribute to the fans. This logo does not contain the league stars, as in the past. The three stars are shown as a neck detail, with a subtle addition of Andrea's three crosses."
Probably the reopening of the archives, the dredging up of retro elements can be an attempt to make up for the lack of creativity by focusing on history and tradition, a real comfort zone in football. Despite the fact that the various rebrandings go completely in the opposite direction for jerseys, clubs have followed the path of the various maisons, By putting their old logos back on their shirts, they remind fans of the former glory of so-called 'romantic football'.
