POMPEII: Designing Football Kits with Depth, Identity, and Long-Term Vision
In the early 2010s, four school friends in Madrid launched a fashion brand named POMPEII. Starting with footwear, they aimed to carve a niche where competi
In the early 2010s, four school friends in Madrid launched a fashion brand named POMPEII. Starting with footwear, they aimed to carve a niche where competition was low and rarity gave them an edge. Over time, the brand evolved into a football‑inspired label that prioritises cultural identity over mass‑market uniformity. Through immersive research, long‑term thinking, and a focus on fan experience, POMPEII is redefining how clubs and supporters connect off the pitch.
The Origins of POMPEII
The brand emerged as Instagram began levelling the playing field for smaller labels. The founders, then aged 19 to 21, had no masterplan. They simply built something of their own and let it grow. Creative Director Cosme Bergareche explains that their decision to start with footwear was both instinctive and strategic: “We felt there was less competition at an entry level. Doing footwear could give us an edge in terms of rarity.”
Before football became a visible pillar of the brand, POMPEII embodied a quieter expression of Madrid’s tone – filtered through design and communication. “Being yourself is the easiest way to be unique,” Bergareche says. “Nobody can do you better than you.”
The brand has matured alongside its founders, resisting the urge to chase an ever‑younger demographic. “We’ve never been afraid of change,” Bergareche notes, “but we always remind ourselves that we’re building something slowly, with a long‑term vision.”
Football as a Return to Foundational Principles
When football entered POMPEII’s frame, it felt like a homecoming. The founders grew up in the 1990s designing imaginary kits on video games, so nostalgia is part of the equation. “We’ve been designing kits since the PES days,” Bergareche laughs. “Like every generation, we feel kits were better back then – even though we know, rationally, they probably weren’t.”
He acknowledges that money drives modern football – sponsors go to the highest bidder, suppliers are chosen for scale. “Football needs to be financially viable,” he says. But when global sportswear brands service dozens of clubs, something slips: “They focus on three or four flagship teams. The rest often receive something much more generic.”
Depth Over Breadth: Immersive Club Partnerships
POMPEII’s alternative is depth over breadth. Instead of treating clubs as accounts, the team approaches each club as an environment. Stadium visits, long walks through the city, and conversations with locals are standard practice. This immersion shapes their philosophy.
Bergareche argues that the industry often centres on the athlete – 23 players in a squad – while ignoring the wider ecosystem. “Meanwhile, you have 20,000 fans in a stadium every two weeks. Those fans want something they can wear to the match and on their Sunday walk.” This shift from performance to participation is subtle but significant.
He predicts most clubs will eventually have both a kit supplier and a lifestyle supplier. In that model, global giants handle technical performance, while independent labels shape the cultural layer. Even where formal partnerships don’t exist, smaller fashion collaborations are likely to multiply. For clubs, the value lies not only in aesthetics but in reaching demographics that might otherwise remain peripheral.
When asked what major manufacturers get wrong, Bergareche says: “Working with 50, 60 or 70 clubs inevitably makes it harder for projects to feel personal. Often the people involved aren’t specialists in product or design.” His remedy: creative direction embedded within clubs themselves – a figure capable of aligning kits, campaigns and identity under a coherent, long‑term vision.
Design Philosophy: Nostalgia, Identity, and Off‑Pitch Wear
Every POMPEII project begins with a deep dive: visiting the city, the stadium, the training grounds, and reviewing every previous kit. From there, direction emerges organically. If a club has exhausted its civic history, supporter subculture may offer new ground. If terrace aesthetics dominate, typography or overlooked graphic details become the focus.
The brand’s latest release with Real Racing Club (their second with the second‑tier Spanish side) exemplifies this approach. Bergareche explains that identity is key, but politics can instantly exclude a large part of the fan base. Football’s rare gift is gathering people from opposing ideologies under one roof, and POMPEII does not want to fracture that collective experience.
References tilt heavily toward late‑90s and early‑2000s European football, though rarely in a literal way. Collars are treated like those on a polo shirt, and the word “refined” surfaces repeatedly. “We design kits to be worn off the pitch too,” Bergareche says. Sponsors are treated as integral components. He recalls supporting different teams as a child, choosing Italy’s Fiorentina purely because of the Nintendo logo across the chest. “That shirt is iconic. It wouldn’t be the same with a different sponsor.”
Looking Back to Open New Doors
Detail matters, sometimes more than people realise. Bergareche sees POMPEII as part of a wider movement that suggests football can be presented differently. “We look back a lot, but not out of nostalgia alone. We’re using that past as a foundation to open new doors.”
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POMPEII isn’t trying to drag football backwards, nor bulldoze tradition in the name of novelty. Instead, it occupies the space in between: attentive to history, alert to culture, and convinced that what happens in the stands and on the streets matters just as much as what happens on the pitch.
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