Hird is the Word
A chat with London-based designer Sophie Hird on sportswear, sustainability, and sewing for two of the Champions League's biggest stars
There are plenty of stars shown in the photo above—from those that adorn the official Champions League knockout stage match balls strewn in front of the mirror to the French professional footballer that’s looking in it. And then there’s the star whose status in sportswear and sustainability is rising, deservedly; the London-based designer Sophie Hird, who is pictured here altering the custom jacket that Adidas has commissioned her to make to celebrate the return of the Champions League. To me, the project is really a celebration of Sophie; her success has been strutted through stadiums, reposted all over social media, and seen across the globe. If anyone asked about this year’s Champions League Round of 16, I would tell them that there were nine winners—Sophie Hird and the eight teams that advanced to next month’s quarterfinals.
Sophie’s work is serious in its ethos of sustainable production, but cheeky and joyful in its execution (think neckties made with Celtic F.C. scraps, or my personal favorite the WAG Bag, which allows you to carry your favorite footballers with you everywhere you go). What began as her 2019 graduate collection has become her namesake brand, exploring sportswear and sustainability in ever-evolving contexts and styles. On a personal level, her story and designs embody the essence of Laced Up, her journey inspiring mine, and the progression of this platform. It’s been a joy to see Sophie shine on the biggest of stages and speak with her about it all.
Zoe Allen: Hi, Sophie! I’m so excited to finally be able to pick your brain about your design work, which is something I’ve wanted to do since I bought one of your WAG Bag’s last year. Fun little first question for you. I’ve been wondering how you collect the football cards you incorporate into the bag–which players are you drawn to? If you were making a WAG Bag for yourself, what would be your lineup of players?
Sophie Hird: I collect all of my football cards on eBay! I bought a huge job lot and didn’t know which ones were going to be in there which was quite exciting as it was a mixed bag. It sounds cheesy but I think if I were making my own WAG Bag it would be made up of my teammates from Whippets FC. We actually got some stickers of our team made up for our kit launch with Umbro so I should probably get onto that...
ZA: You interned at a sports brand, where you were inspired to create your own brand because of the number of product samples you saw going to waste. I think a lot of us, including myself, see the problems with fashion waste and still do too little to combat it. There’s a bit of cognitive dissonance there. How did you decide to pick up those scraps you saw and make these beautiful, upcycled garments? It’s one thing to want to do something, and it’s another thing in its entirety to actually do it.
SH: Well, it kind of went hand in hand with also being extremely intimidated by fabric shops. I find them so overwhelming and was dreading having to go to them for my final collection at Uni. Sourcing football shirts at my local car boot felt so much more natural and inspiring to me; working with what was there and the challenge of making it work that I enjoyed at the beginning. I find the designs of old football shirts a lot more inspiring than rolls of fabric, so it kind of just snowballed from there, really!
ZA: You recently designed an official kit for your aforementioned and beloved Whippets FC in collaboration with Umbro. Tell me about the process you underwent bringing these pieces to life and what it meant to you to design the official uniform of the club you’re a part of.Â
SH: Umbro were really great throughout the whole process, they gave me complete freedom to design whatever I wanted which was so exciting. I have never had any of my designs made by a manufacturer so it was a bit surreal when it all came out and we received the kits. I joined Whippets after lockdown, not knowing anyone, and now it’s truly like a second family to me—so to make it for those guys and see them play in the kits is something special.
ZA: Even more recently–Sophie Hird is on fire (sung like the Beth Mead chant)–you were commissioned by Adidas to create custom bespoke leather jackets for both Jules Koundé and Rodrigo de Paul. These players have worn some sick outfits in the past, but I think your pieces top the list of the coolest individual pieces they have worn. How did these commissions come together? What was important to you when designing for Jules versus designing for Rodrigo?
SH: I loved making these pieces so much. Adidas was quite flexible with how I went about this, I just had to make the UCL ball the main focus.Â
To begin with, I deconstructed the iconic Champions League final ball into individual panels. As the ball design is celebrating the final being held in London, I wanted to emphasize this and allow the lions within it to hold center stage.
The base of each jacket is made from locally sourced, second-hand leather jackets. Each jacket was cut, cleaned then re-sewn into a new bomber-style. Influenced by 80s bomber jackets, I added elasticated waistbands, cuffs, and large collars.
In the design process, I became heavily influenced by a sport called Speedway. Similar to Motocross, riders would wear these incredibly loud leather two-pieces with stripes and stars across them. After seeing these and the Champions League ball, I wanted to bring these two worlds together.
Each jacket is a completely unique take on these references, encapsulating the Adidas stripes, Champions League stars, and nostalgic sportswear worn in the 80s.
ZA: Clearly, you’ve had some insane collaborations already. What would your dream collab be, or has it already happened?Â
SH: Honestly my dream collab was always Adidas. I couldn’t believe it when I received a message from them. In the grand scheme of the fashion world, I'm still a very small designer so it was the hugest pinch me moment to have them recognise me and commission those pieces.
ZA: Where do you see the future of sportswear heading? Do you see the rise in mainstream attention to sportswear as a positive or negative?
SH: It seems like sportswear brands are innovating their garments. A lot of brands use sustainable or recycled materials and as they’re the giants in the fashion industry, this is really great to see. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword though because there will always be a new football jersey released every year, for every team, along with other garments, so there will sadly always be a lot of waste happening.
You can shop Sophie’s designs here, and follow her on Instagram here.