Kane Hulse took another trip, armed simply with his camera, a few rolls of film and some Marseille shirts. The purpose, to see what the local fans are about and what their culture means to them.
One of CK’s favourite photographers is at it again, this time exploring the sights of Marseille, on a mission to record the French football fashionistas and club ultras that appear to govern the streets, whether it’s a match day or not.
What happened next is best left to Kane…
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Walking around the Noailles district of Marseille, I doubt there’s a part of the world more dripped in football merchandise than here. Kids lounge on mopeds rocking head to toe tracksuits punctuated with tn’s and asics.
Unofficial and official stores sit on the same road with the former showing off bootleg colour combinations that never existed, a Dapper Dan esque take on football wear in a city dotted and draped in the turquoise blue of L’OM.
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Walking up the velodrome it’s no dash in ten minutes before kick off, hours before families and friends clothed in blue and white catch up over kebabs and pizzas on the avenue de prado as the young ultra’s start to build an atmosphere on the steps popping flares and chants to decipher any tourists from the hardcore.
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Fan stores welcome you in with a visual merchandising display of rival shirts as a doormat for you to wipe your feet, Lyon & PSG taking the most beating from air bubble soles.
"Walking around the Noailles district of Marseille, I doubt there’s a part of the world more dripped in football merchandise than here."
In the Virage Nord as we wait to get in, one beefcake waits patiently with his young daughter to get in with the ultras, passing on the fire of support to the next generation to take on the mantle. The shirts start to come off, the flares make their way from the swag bags and the stand erupts into a red volcano as the Virage Nord competes with the orange clad Virage sud to see who has the wildest support.
Shop the Marseille Collection HERE.
Each section has its own colour combination, even though there’s a sea of white and blue across the stadium in the Nord I’m told not to wear merch but all black and the opposing sud is suited up in tangerine orange. C.P is the flavour in the stands and the one shop in all of Marseille is strategically located across from the stadium.
After the match the ultra’s pulled the players over for a public shaming, not fit to wear the iconic shirt of L’OM but no such fear for the people of Marseille as we walk though the Vieux de port, A Joey Barton shirt being a personal favourite after his average but memorable spell in the city gained him a cult following in the stands.
“C.P is the flavour in the stands and the one shop in all of Marseille is strategically located across from the stadium.”
The next day we sit in one of the supporters cafe’s tallying the kits that roll through, Marseille an obvious first with Real Madrid a clear second followed by Bayern. Zero PSG shirts naturally. Here football feels like a deeper part of the city, a natural rebel port city against its illustrious capital with unlimited finances, the team is an extension of this peoples identity and anything less than 100% will not just be not tolerated, but acted on.
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Imagery courtesy of Kane Hulse | Copyright Kane Hulse | Produced for Cult Kits
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