The man behind Ipswich Town's new kits says there is a simple theme running through and inspiring both - pride.
The club's rise has been meteoric over the past two years, with consecutive promotions leading to a Premier League return after 22 years away.
And Paul Macro, Town's head of retail operations, explained that meant it was time to step away from the retro-inspired Umbro shirts of the past two years and look for something new.
"We wanted that theme to run through the first two years (with Umbro), and I think that worked really well," he told TownTV.
BUY! Pre-order our Mission Impossible promotion magazine - save £2 and get your name inside it!
“But it was time to step away from that and do something that maybe we haven’t done before.
“Especially in the away shirt, you can always change that up a little bit more than you can the home – obviously you’re a little bit more restricted with the home.
“It’s been good to work on some fresh concepts.”
Those fresh concepts were unveiled yesterday, with Macro explaining the thought processes behind both the home and away shirts.
“There was a lot of thought that went into what was going to be the theme through these shirts this year," he said.
“With everything’s that gone on over the last couple of years, we really wanted that theme of being proud to run through the kits.
“So the home shirt really represents that pride of playing for the badge from a player’s point of view – how proud the players are to represent the club, and how proud the supporters are to say they support Ipswich Town.
“I think if you go on holiday or something like that and someone asks you who you support, you’re going to say Ipswich Town with a lot of pride.
“To pull that in the home shirt, it really represents being proud of the club and being proud of the badge.
“We’ve just highlighted the badge with a little shield around it, which pulls the badge out of the shirt, so the badge looks really strong on this shirt.
“There’s a navy trim on the shirt as well, which we haven’t done for quite a while on home shirts and that gives it a different sort of look and feel.
“Then tying in with the 100-year anniversary of Umbro, it’s got a little bit of a heritage Umbro logo on there. I think the red in that logo and the red in the (Town) crest balances up quite nicely.
“And then we’ve got pinstripes in, which we haven’t done for around ten years on a home shirt, which gives it a really nice classic feel – it’s a Premier League shirt.”
READ MORE: Exclusive interview with Town owner
While the home shirt will always be blue, the away kit allows Macro and his team to flex their creative muscles a bit more.
And that's led to a new colour combo for the club - maroon and gold.
“We really wanted to move to something we hadn’t done before with the away shirt," Macro enthused.
“Whereas the home represents being proud of the club, this one is being proud of the town.
“Our success on the pitch extends to the whole of the town and seeps through the whole of Ipswich.
READ MORE: Nine players who could leave Town this summer
“On a matchday, everywhere is full – bars, restaurants, pubs, they’re all full, and the ground is full and rocking.
“So in this away shirt we’ve represented that by looking at a full, packed out Portman Road, full of flags being waved by supporters, and we’ve taken little details from all those flags and pulled together a nice little graphic that runs through the shirt.
“And we’ve used quite a nice, fresh, colour combination that we haven’t really used before.”
Of that gold, he added: “It looks really smart and it’s not something we’ve done, a gold tonal crest on a shirt.
“I think that really stands out and the navy runs through both the home and away shirts as well, so that gives a nice link between kits.
“I think they look really, really smart.
“It gives us that really unique shirt – no-one is going to have this shirt, this pattern, it’s all unique to Ipswich Town Football Club.”
The club broke kit sales records last season, shifting 63,000 shirts, and CEO Mark Ashton has already set his sights on breaking that in the coming season.
With fans also able to add the Premier League logo to their sleeves, Macro believes that's a realistic goal.
WATCH: Ross interviews Troy Brown about his time at Town
“I think these are going to be really popular," he said. "Obviously we had a really strong season last year, over 60,000 shirts sold.
“So we’re moving up another level when you go into the Premier League, but I can’t imagine we’ll sell many shirts without that Premier League logo on the sleeve.
"I think that’s going to be really popular this year.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel