Earlier this month, PUMA revealed their exclusive collaboration with KidSuper which debuted at this summer’s inaugural 32-team Club World Cup tournament. Breaking the boundaries of conventional kit designs, the FRESHLY PAINTED collection combines football, fashion, and art, taking jersey culture to unprecedented heights.

The collection features kits and lifestyle apparel for Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, FC Salzburg, Mamelodi Sundowns, Al-Hilal, Palmeiras, and Monterrey. It also features special edition PUMA x KidSuper FUTURE, ULTRA and KING football boots.

PUMA’s relationship with KidSuper began in 2020, but this latest drop truly epitomises the eccentricity synonymous with the New York based brand. Seamlessly blending the rich history of each club with modern design concepts, the shirts feature hand-drawn graphics and watercolour palettes, reimagining what it means to wear a jersey. 

The unique blend of football, fashion, and art wasn’t just limited to the collection, as PUMA held a fashion show in New York City to reveal the full collection.

@footballerfits The PUMA x KidSuper event in New York was wavey. This is how you do football x fashion 🤌 #football #nyc #puma #kidsuper #style #kits ♬ original sound – Footballer Fits

Featuring a runway show that wouldn’t look out of place at Paris Fashion Week, the showcase redefined the typical kit launch. Not only reiterating the major shift in the relationship between football and fashion, but it also highlighted how prevalent self-expression is within the respective industries. 

At the heart of the collection is KidSuper founder Colm Dillane, a renowned fashion designer with an insatiable love for the beautiful game. Born and raised in NYC, the designer spent a year in Brazil playing football and the spirit of joga bonito is on full display throughout the entire collection. 

Transcending conventional kit designs, this latest collaboration is living proof of how important it is for football to embrace the influence of different subcultures. Giving fans the opportunity to display their love for the game beyond the traditional boundaries of the stadium, empowering them to express their support while looking immaculately fly.

Before the show, we sat down for an exclusive interview with KidSuper founder Colm Dillane to discuss his journey in fashion, his infectious love for the game, the creative process behind the collection, and his obsession with Brazilian icon Ronaldinho. 

Footballer Fits: How was KidSuper born?

Colm Dillane: “I started making T-shirts in high school, and I would go to my cafeteria and try to sell them. I then got addicted to making clothing, nothing complicated, but slowly, I started progressing, googling manufacturing, and getting samples. And when I went to college, I converted my dorm room into a store, so everybody was coming to buy KidSuper, and then slowly and progressively, we ended up here.” 

When did your love for football develop, and how has it transitioned throughout the years?

Colm Dillane: “If you ask my parents what they thought I was going to be when I grew up, they would say, a soccer player — even my first word was ball. And so through fashion, I’ve tried to accomplish my soccer dreams, and it’s been pretty amazing. I even got Ronaldinho to walk my fashion show, which I think was one of the best moments of my life. I asked him what was better, walking my show or winning a World Cup, and he was like, very different, both very different. [laughs]”

Does the originality of your designs embody the authenticity of your relationship with football? 

Colm Dillane: “These jerseys are risk-taking. They weren’t subtle, they weren’t simple, and I could have gone that route and pleased more people, but for me, this is a moment to stand out. I always think when you have a third kit, you should be creative and try to be as audacious as you possibly can, and so that’s what I was going for. All of these clubs have rich histories and are from different places, so I wanted to honour each city and each fan base.”

What was the process behind deciding what the key design features of each kit would be?

Colm Dillane: “What people don’t see is you get denied a lot. Getting a lot of the designs approved was quite difficult because there were a lot of different colours, and FIFA rules and regulations. So for each jersey, I designed six variations, and the total number of jerseys I designed was probably over 50.”

How difficult was it to mesh each Club’s individual legacy with the unique and eccentric designs that characterise KidSuper?

Colm Dillane: “It was way harder than anyone thinks because these are hand-painted, so even for the concepts I’m having to paint a full painting. So it was harder than people think, and I was a little worried because football fan bases can be really difficult and really tough to please, but seeing the positive reaction from some of the fan bases has been amazing.”

You describe football, both on and off the pitch, as an art form — is the beauty of a kit, its physical design, or the inspiration and thought behind it?

Colm Dillane: “That’s a good question — I think both. Some jerseys become iconic because of the time and place, not necessarily the design. The other thing that I think is interesting that people don’t talk about, is that the chest sponsor was such a big design asset. I always think of the O2 Arsenal jersey. Is it a really good design? I don’t know, but that O2 logo is doing a lot. Then you think of Thierry Henry, and all the other players — so there’s a lot that goes into making a kit iconic.”

Your first collaboration with PUMA was back in 2020, what was it about PUMA that first attracted you?

Colm Dillane: “In 2020, Kid Super wasn’t where it is now. I was dying for a shoe because when you start a clothing brand, that’s the epitome of – we made it. PUMA was the only brand  talking about soccer,  and that was the thing that I kept pushing. But they saw me more as a fashion designer, and I was telling them I’m so good at soccer, let me do soccer stuff. And one of the first things we did with PUMA back in the day was a soccer cleat, and now we’ve been able to do it again. But it is funny because when we go to the meetings, they’re trying to do fashion, and I’m trying to do sport, and it’s a funny disconnect because they’re a sports brand. So they’re like, this is our fashion moment, and I’m like, this is my sports moment.”

Your collaborations with PUMA often defy the typical mould of conventional collaborations, how much scope do PUMA give you to exercise creative freedom?

Colm Dillane: “They’ve been amazing. What’s been cool about my PUMA work is I’m doing completely custom uppers on my shoes. We’re allowed to do completely different things, and I think we should look at original designs and give them more credit than it’s getting. I’m not saying I need more credit, but we’ve pushed the limit on the designs, and they’ve gone a little bit under the radar. We’ve done amazing things together, especially on the promotional side, so shout out to PUMA.”

KidSuper is renowned for being at the intersection of football, fashion, music, and art — how do you retain authenticity and originality in an increasingly commercialised niche?

Colm Dillane: “It’s funny because I see a couple of brands trying to do what we’re doing a little bit, but I was just doing bucket list stuff — that’s how authentic it was. I’ve always wanted to do this how can I accomplish that goal within KidSuper?  My interests were soccer, art, fashion, and music — so it became natural. If you look at the history of KidSuper, we’ve been into those things since day one – I’m almost more of a soccer player than a fashion designer.” 

The football fashion industry has boomed in recent years, what would you say are the key features or characteristics of a successful/impactful collection?

Colm Dillane: “It is funny because when I was doing soccer five years ago, everybody was like, why are you doing this? And now you see people wearing cleats on the street, which is crazy, and jerseys have become so big. But I’ll see people do soccer collaborations, and I’m like send me their highlights. If they don’t have highlights, they shouldn’t be allowed. So a lot of people are doing soccer stuff, where I’m like, come on.”

Last year at Paris Fashion Week, Ronaldinho walked on the runway for the first time for you — how did that link-up happen and how significant was that moment for you, both personally and professionally?

Colm Dillane: “Ronaldinho is my full God. I would drop a KidSuper collection and then post, Happy birthday Ronaldinho, like it was that obsessive. But shout out to Emery, he DM’d me and said I know Ronaldinho, and through his father, who met Ronaldinho randomly, we made a group chat with me and Ronaldinho’s brother. I ended up meeting with them, and it was funny because they asked what do you want? In my mind, this meeting is what I wanted, but if I dream as big as I can, what if Ronaldinho walked a fashion show? I think they realised how passionate I was for the game and them, and they were down. The best part was they asked me, do you want to play with us? And so I got to play with Ronaldinho. I have a goal where Ronaldinho assisted me on Colombian national television — that was a childhood dream. So, shout out to Ronaldinho, my legit God. He’s my background on my phone. [laughs]”

You can watch the full conversation here.