The Copenhagen-based designer Stine Goya is known for her masterful use of colour and print, and her collaboration with Umbro has the same feeling of joy and vibrancy that defines her mainline collections. Classic sportswear from the ’90s is reimagined through a playful lens, with nostalgic colours fused into a more modern palette and bold silhouettes, that together challenge traditional notions of football kits.
“I listened to a lot of Blur,” Goya tells Vogue of her design process, adding that she was deeply inspired by the “cultural worlds” of the ’90s. From Brit Pop to Umbro’s archival sports kits that were “a real game changer for what the collaboration was going to be,” the decade’s influence is a common thread throughout. Playing on ’90s silhouettes, a windbreaker has been realised in pink, orange and cream, with a waist that can be cinched in to create a ruffled silhouette.
As an ode to the oversized fit of football shirts of the decade, a dress in a mossy green shade is rendered with Umbro’s signature integrated neckline and rib inserts. Five other pieces, including a pleated skirt, a pair of sweatpants, two colourful jerseys and a pair of knee socks, round off the seven-piece capsule that celebrates women’s football in the lead up to the Euros in July.
Emblazoned across the back of a sporty green dress – Goya’s favourite piece from the capsule – are the words: “Good things shouldn’t take time.” With the tournament approaching in July, the Danish designer saw this as an opportunity to spotlight a powerful message: “It’s the perfect time to really shine a light further on women’s football,” she says. “But it still deserves and needs a lot more attention.” While Goya recognises the growing sense of “optimism” in and around women’s football – especially after record-breaking viewership during the 2022 championship – her message is clear: the journey isn’t over. “It’s about time for women to be more celebrated in sports,” she adds.
Referencing the general approach to style in her home city of Copenhagen, Goya explains that people want to “dress well and look eye-catching, and then hop on their bike in the rain.” At its core, the collaboration between Stine and Umbro is rooted in a sense of wearability and female empowerment. It takes a football kit and reimagines it as a vibrant staple for the everyday – “whether you want to wear it down the pub, to watch the game, or to the rave.”
The Stine Goya x Umbro collection will be available to shop on 28 May.
