Miami brand BOL create kits that look to exude the confidence, strength and bravery of the team they’re designing for. The Montserrat game jerseys are just the start.
We caught up with BOL to find out more about the brand designing a new style of kit.
CK: BOL is a relatively young brand – how did it form?
BOL: We’re born from the passion of the three founders for the game. Tiago, Marco and Eduardo, all passionate about football, all have different professional experiences, but have been connected through football since their childhoods. They came together in Miami, a city very passionate about the game, and saw the opportunity to create an apparel brand that actually speaks to the fans, and represents the teams.
As football lovers, we always considered that existing brands weren’t doing a good enough job creating products that elevated the game. The products have always been about the brand, instead of the truly important elements: the players, the teams and the game. We created BOL to deliver that passion through our products, a brand that actually elevates and represents that love for the game.
CK: Where does your passion for football originate?
BOL: The passion for football runs through our veins, we are originally from Brazil, have taken our love for football all over the world, and living in Miami intensified that passion, because Miami is a city that makes you even more passionate about everything in life; different cultures, food, and football. Miami represents BOL’s vibrant energy, as well as our team, which is also a symbol of that cultural diversity and passion for football and life itself. These are the main elements that are reflected in the products that BOL for its teams. Our passion and creativity has been exponentially amplified by our city and the region around us.
CK: BOL's brand has a vibrant lifestyle feel to it – where does the inspiration for this come from?
BOL: Our vibrant lifestyles reflect the way we perceive football fans and the sport per se. Football is vibrant, its colourful, it’s loud, with a lot of movement involved on and off pitch. Fans cheer, they shout, so the game itself generates this vibrant culture of football that the world is so passionate about, and which has inspired us as a brand. To this formula, we added the Miami and artistic components to create the BOL lifestyle. It is a combination of the nature of the sport, the city where we’re located and where we get out creative queues from.
CK: BOL seems to be taking a different approach to its jersey designs – how has the brand been received by football shirt fans and collectors?
BOL: We believe that the response we’ve been receiving from fans, collectors and the football community in general is amazing. People are recognising that a brand that truly respects the fans and the game, design products that show that recognition for the teams and the football culture, which is represented in the quality and design of our products. BOL is being recognised as a brand that treats the game as it deserves. BOL considers football the ultimate passion that drives peoples lives, people are noticing that, and we couldn’t ask for a better recognition.
CK: You are focussing on International teams currently, are there any plans to produce jerseys for US or European clubs?
BOL: Yes, we are totally open to expanding to other teams, clubs and regions. BOL is not about a geographic location, or if it’s a National Team or club. The most important thing is to find people on those teams that have a matching mindset. We want partners who are open to elevating the design of their jerseys, teams who are in communion with the players, the fans and the community around the team, and who have a clear identity that they want to portray through their jersey. Our focus is to work with organisations who are looking for these solutions, rather that the type of team or their location.
CK: If you could work with any club to produce their jersey, who would it be?
BOL: All the teams in the world, whether it's a club or a National Team, have a clear identity, and that’s what makes them special. If a club or team recognises, feels proud, and wants to elevate that identity through their kits, then that’s the team we want to partner with to create jerseys that represent that culture, that pride.
CK: Does BOL have any specific long term goals outside of football shirt creation?
BOL: Our long term goals are pretty clear; it’s all about football. We’re 100% committed to the game. We design the complete line of equipment that a team requires. We also have products being designed with the fans in mind, who, from our point of view, are also part of the team. To BOL, a team is a communion of players, technical staff, the fans, the city, the country, and anyone who is engaged with their identity. So, our long term plan is to design and deliver everything that community needs, while staying fully committed to football. Football is our priority, it’s our soul, and we’re not shifting away from that.
CK: What else can people look forward to seeing from BOL in terms of new product releases?
BOL: We have a lot of excitement going on at BOL at the moment. We just launched the Montserrat jersey and are about to unveil the new Trinidad and Tobago kit in the next few weeks. There are other teams that we expect to announce very soon, and some other on the works. Vibrant fans of football and apparel that represents that passion can expect a lot of new from BOL in the upcoming months.
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The Monserrat home and away shirts are available now from Cult Kits for £59.99 here.