Umbro dedicates its AW26 collection to the ritual of the away trip: “Away Days” blends the Casuals era of the 80s and 90s with British tailoring and Italian elegance.
A train station early in the morning, coffee from a vending machine, a scarf packed somewhere in the bag: away trips are one of the rituals that define football culture, long before kick-off. Umbro has now built an entire collection around it. AW26 "Away Days" is about everything that happens between departure and kick-off, translated into sportswear with a fashion edge.
Umbro and the Casuals Movement: Inspired by Away Trips to Italy
The collection draws on a defining chapter of football culture: the Casuals movement of the 1980s and 1990s. As English fans followed their clubs across Europe, they brought back more than memories from their trips, new influences arrived above all from Italy, and above all an understanding that football and fashion could belong together.
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Umbro, itself founded in Manchester, blends its own sportswear DNA with British tailoring and Italian ease in "Away Days," drawing on the idea of sprezzatura: the art of putting in effort without letting it show.
The collection was meant to "capture the spirit of football beyond the pitch," says Helene Hope, Head of Global Brand Marketing at Umbro. "The journey begins long before kick-off; it starts the moment the decision is made to go. From that point on, every detail matters, including the styling choices that become part of the ritual of departure."
Shersey, Pinstripe Drill Top, Trench Coat: The Pieces in Umbro's Away Days Collection
The standout piece is the Shersey, a hybrid that reworks a football jersey through the lens of a formal shirt. Alongside it sit a Pinstripe Drill Top and a Trench Coat that nods to classic touchline coaching style. Relaxed tracksuits, football-coded knitwear and accessories round out the collection.
The campaign deliberately plays out not in the stadium but in the moments before it: train stations, bus stops, platforms, luggage, waiting rooms.
Drop 1 of the Away Days collection lands 20th August at umbro.co.uk, with Drop 2 following on 10th September.
