Hi Rory.
So, in the end, what makes great World Cup clothing, and what makes it resonate beyond the pitch, may not be that different from what makes good clothing, period, even taking into account the limited ingredients (two shirts, shorts, socks) and the technical exigencies. Ditto what makes it boring.
After all, one of the causes of homogenization — other than the fact that so many countries’ flags actually have exactly the same colors in them — could be the fact that, by my count, essentially two companies made by far the majority of the kits: Adidas, with 12 (Iran, Morocco, Egypt, Mexico, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Colombia, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Belgium), and Nike, with 10 (Poland, Saudi Arabia, Australia, South Korea, England, Portugal, Croatia, France, Brazil, Nigeria). Puma did four (Serbia, Switzerland, Senegal, Uruguay), New Balance two (Panama, Costa Rica), and Errea (Iceland), Unisport (Tunisia), Hummel (Denmark) and Umbro (Peru) filled in around the edges.
Source : NYtimes
