After spending so long developing a stunning new kit, the last thing that Umbro’s design team wanted was for the England team to turn up in the dressing room on matchday and be given either a small, medium or large. As Senior Designer David Blanch tells journalist Chris Hunt, this new England kit is a bespoke creation, and the players have been measured for it as if for a finely crafted, made-to-measure suit.

Chris: How did you get the players involved in the development of the new shirt?

David: “We held individual fitting sessions with the players, very much as you would if you where having a suit made to measure. During the first fitting session we discussed the new fit and took their sizes and then we went away to make samples for each of them. We then came back and had a second fitting session where got the players to try on their personal kit, just to make sure they were the right fit and the right length. It was important they all have individual fittings because, for example, many of the players have similar waist sizes but there’s quite a difference in height, so we wanted to ensure each player, no mater how tall or short, have their choice of leg length.

Chris: What were you trying to achieve with the fitting sessions?

David: “We’re trying to give the players the best fitting kit possible to help convey this smart confidence, this team unity, this strong team identity, and as such you need the whole team to look the part. So we’ve chosen to individually tailor each kit for every player. Even if they get a late call up to the team, we will send one of the tailors to measure them.”

Chris: How has this approach changed the finished product?

David: “When the team line up for the national anthem, you want the team to convey confidence and unity, to the extent that we knew very early on that this kit couldn’t be sized small, medium and large only. The correct fit is so important with this new kit, so this will be the first modern football shirt offered by chest size, such as 40, 42 or 44 inch. It’s important that everyone who wears it, both players and fans alike, looks and feels proud, smart, confident, whilst knowing all the important material technology is still there, just less overt this time.”

Chris: How did the players react to the fitting sessions?

David: “I remember one of the players asking me, ‘Is this just spin? Or are you serious about this, because I’ve had things measured before with other clubs?’ It turns out that someone had measured him but then he was just given a shirt out of the kit bag that didn’t fit him. I did tell him ‘This certainly isn’t spin, you’re going to have a shirt individually made for you’. We’ve had several fitting sessions with him since and he’s so really happy with the fit. I remember watching Rio Ferdinand standing in front of the mirror trying on his bespoke shirt and he just kept looking with a smile he said ‘like it… Sold’ And I also remember Joe Cole’s fitting session, when he saw it for the first time and he said ‘That’s the best England kit I’ve ever seen – simple and smart.’

Don’t many players prefer their shorts baggier in style?

David: “I’ve spoken to players about this because they tend to like the shorts baggy at the moment. Most of the players currently believe that baggy gives them more flexibility, more room to move about, but when it comes to performance garments it couldn’t be further from the truth. You actually need it cut closer to the body to allow it to move with you.  Think of the skin under your arm for example – it’s not low like a bat wing, its high into your armpit, which is the same principle used on the shirt.

How did you arrive at the cut of the shorts?

David: “The tailors actually helped us look at how to change improve the fit cut of the short, making the shorts fit closer. The new shorts look a bit longer, but we haven’t changed the length, we’ve just lifted the crotch higher. The advantage is that by cutting them closer to the body you not only feel better but actually move better with the body. During the fit sessions I put the players into the new shorts and they noticed the difference instantly and didn’t want to give them back – they wanted them there and then.”

Later on Charlie Allen whose clients in the past have included former England defender Sol Campbell, tells us that this is the first time he has had to measure a player for a football kit. Chris Hunts talks through the player fitting sessions with him.