Today, we’ve got another guest blogger giving their opinion on the new England Away kit. John Devlin, the man behind the excellent True Colours Football Kits books and website. Here, he takes a look at how the new kit fits in with the work we here at Umbro have been doing with our kit designs over the past year or so…

“Looking at the current England home kit and the eagerly anticipated new away kit, it struck me that these strips have not only spearheaded a new wave of kit design thinking, they have also captured the very essence of the rejuvenation of Umbro’s brand within their moisture-wicking fabric.

It is a common misconception that branding is simply about logos. Of course the strength and recognition of a logo is vital – and it is no coincidence that a refreshed Umbro double diamond design was launched just prior to 2009’s England home kit. But branding encompasses everything connected to a company, including its staff and the quality of the products the company manufactures. These factors all contribute to the ‘brand’ and should reflect the values, philosophies and heritage of the company and all that it represents and aims to be.

The re-discovery of the ‘Tailored by Umbro’ phrase on the label of an old football shirt is clearly key to Umbro’s design ethos and vibrant brand presence today. This simple slogan – long forgotten in the Umbro lexicon – and its use as the primary marketing drive behind the launch of the current England home jersey sums up perfectly how the company have re-booted their entire approach to football kits and their brand via these effective and groundbreaking designs.

The England kits acknowledge and reference Umbro’s football history reinterpreted with the very latest technology and all underpinned by classic tailoring principles. It’s this creative thinking that has been employed to construct these unique, timeless kits, that really show where Umbro are now at.

The away kit clearly nods knowingly to the Aztec jersey on which the iconic ’66 strip was derived, but thanks to a modern twist and new elements such as the contrasting white cuffs and shorts trim it doesn’t rest on its laurels and neatly sidesteps the baggage of expectation which that iconic jersey always carries with it.

The kit takes the style and grace of that jersey and combines it with an innovative approach to tailoring, designed to cope with the rigorous demands placed on it, creating an outfit that is worthy of being worn on the sleeve of an English hand should it manage to lift the World Cup this summer.

This combination of heritage, tailoring, style, bravery, creativity and innovation is what makes these kits unique. Of course we can’t ignore the fact that these outfits are designed solely for the England national football team. But by default they also enhance and reflect the Umbro brand. They’re fit for purpose, both on and off the pitch, bringing confidence and pride to the players and anyone else when they pull them on – in the same way that they now also bring confidence and pride to the Umbro brand itself.

The brand, like its kits, has gone through a massive change in the last year. But massive change brings massive results and the effect of this resurgence has completely refreshed England football apparel, the Umbro brand and the very notion of what a football kit can be.”