Yes, you read that correctly. A ROCK STAR DESIGNED THE HORIZON'S UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB '20/'21 FOOTBALL JERSEY!!!
I am so excited to share this…this…this…I don’t know what to call it! I suppose this…story?
Since 2016, I’ve been a huge fan of the Spanish rock band, Hinds. Having followed their journey for a whooping six years, I’ve always admired what they stood for. Like for example, in 2020 they repurposed their 2019 album, “I Don’t Run”, merch to take a stand against racism by donating the merch's proceeds to anti-racist organizations - why wouldn’t you love this band? If you aren’t following Hinds, then go listen to their entire discography and learn all about them ASAP!
My favorite song of theirs is "Come back and love me"!!
Another amazing thing about this female rock band is that each band member (Carlotta, Amber, Ade, and Ana) is multi-talented. Like co-lead singer, pianist, and co-lead guitarist, Ana Perrote for example. When not playing with Hinds, you can find Ana modeling and painting.
Last summer on Instagram, Ana posted a picture of a plant pot but the pot was made out of an old soccer ball that she painted tiny jerseys on. Not only is that the coolest thing ever but that also opens up a conversation about sustainability too...
Here and there Ana would share paintings of football jerseys and her other colorful and eye catching artwork. I finally gathered the courage to ask one of my favorite musicians if she’d be willing to paint something for the HUFC universe. She happily responded and the rest is HUFC history…
The Horizon’s United Football Club ‘20/’21 jersey is inspired by my love of numerous things: 90s jerseys, collars, Umbro, Everton, and the colors, blue, orange, and purple.
What was unique about this process was that Ana had full autonomy. I never asked her to send me photos of her sketches nor pictures of her progress. I let Ana "take the wheel"! Before she started painting however, I did send her photos of jerseys that I liked so she could get a sense of what I did and didn’t like.
After a summer of exchanging emails, I finally received the Horizon’s United Football Club jersey designed by one of my favorite musicians in the fall of 2021. Check out the process below:
And…I didn’t stop there. I’m also a massive fan of Ana’s tiny jersey paintings! What’s intriguing about these tiny jerseys is that she incorporates features and patterns of jerseys both past and present. Check out her painting, “Keane’s closet” below:
Given my love for Hinds, Richarlison, the Uruguayan national team (mainly Martin Caceres haha I'm just kidding), I asked Ana to paint an Uruguay jersey with "Caceres 22" on the back, an Everton jersey with "Richarlison 7" on the back and a Hinds jersey, which was something she hadn't done before! Here's "Horizon's closet":
This has been by far one of my most proudest HUFC moments. I’ve also gone on to think about what the art and design football space is like for women: How many women are designing jerseys? Kits? Boots? Logos? How many clubs are letting women take the reins in the art and design space? Where can I find this information?
So many questions and so many more stories to share…Which brings me to my last point: Ana’s story. How did Ana get into painting? Is she a football fan? What does football mean to her? Well, I’m glad you asked those questions…
Wandering eyes, check out Ana’s story here!