The colliding worlds of football and fashion is a constant, with new and emerging talent fuelling the creative pool. One such artist is that of Diana Al Shammari. Her embroidered football shirts have seen her collaborate with some of the biggest brands in the world. Bringing life to even the latest football shirt releases, Diana's talents in creating beautiful individual pieces is a pure joy.
In her own words... "Reinventing football shirts through the art of embroidery." We caught up with one of football fashion's brightest creators, to hear where Diana's inspirations originate. As well as hear what her take is on the current shirt releases.
CK: First thing first,... who do you support?
DAS: I support a small German club…they’re really obscure, called Bayern Munich. I’m not sure if many people have heard of them. But really, it’s a long story but a wholesome one.
CK: What's your earliest football memory?
DAS: My earliest football memory was probably stealing my brother’s football shirts and wearing them around the house or forcing him (more like crying to my mum) to bring me along with him to play football with his friends, just regular younger sister shenanigans. I cherish these memories.
CK: Tell us what you've been working on lately?
DAS: This summer has been quite busy and I’m really enjoying putting in the work and improving my craft!
Last month I released a 50-piece collection in collaboration with Nike NYC to be showcased at the House of Innovation in New York City. That was one of the most intense and personally fulfilling projects that I’ve ever worked on. I really enjoyed working with Nike NYC on that scale and it definitely taught me a lot of valuable things about myself and the creative process.
A couple of weeks ago, I ran an embroidery workshop with Adidas Football at their London Flagship store as well as created 4 embroidered WWC jerseys to be raffled through the Adidas app. I always wanted to run an embroidery workshop and create an enthusiasm for the art form - so when the opportunity presented itself I couldn’t refuse.
CK: How did your work originate?
DAS: My work originated out of my love for creativity and always embedding football into anything I do. Football, when I was younger, was a great distraction from the chaos happening around me (former refugee, childhood during the 2003 Iraq war, etc.). And what drew me to football shirts was the sense of identity that they bring and seeing one group of fans wearing one kit reinforces that. The reason I decided to customise and embellish them was to showcase that within groups, people have their own identities and individualities as well.
CK: What's been your standout piece/job/collab of 2023 so far?
DAS: My standout moments of 2023 so far have been my collaboration with the LA Galaxy ahead of their MLS season opener against LAFC at the Rose Bowl, the Japan 2022 World Cup 3rd shirt, Inter Miami 22/23 home kit, my collaborations with Nike NYC and Adidas LDN. Also, probably creating 2 pieces for a well-dressed American pop star. Will keep your audience guessing who it was :)
CK: What other work is catching your eye at the moment?
DAS: I really enjoyed the work of graffiti artist Sen2 in creating custom shirt numbers for Real Madrid & Juve for their final US pre-season game. I thought that was such a refreshing take on shirt numbers and would love to see more of them on the pitch.
CK: What do you think your team's chances are this coming season?
DAS: With Harry Kane joining and the Tottenham Hotspur curse following him (and losing our season opener), I don’t think our chances are that great tbh…I mean we’ll win the Bundesliga, but that’s standard.
CK: What's your standout footy shirt for the 23/24 season?
DAS: I can’t choose just one so I’ll just name a few, soz! There were some absolute beauties ahead of the WWC from the likes of Jamaica, Sweden and Portugal. Additionally, Roma, Ajax, Man U, Spurs and City are all bringing the heat this season.
CK: What do you think of your team's shirts this year?
DAS: I really like the home kit this year. There’s a lot of history behind the inspiration and reinterpretation of the iconic club identity and colours. Not a huge fan of the away kit.
CK: Can you tell us what you've got coming up – any exciting collabs we should look out for?
I hate to be that person but I really don’t like sharing any upcoming projects until they are finished and ready to go, even with my own family. So I’ll just leave it there and treat you all like family.
_
You can see more of Diana's stunning work here.