Walthamstow FC won their first game away at Ipswich Wanderers 2-0, wearing the most talked about, and arguably most stylish football kit this pre-season
By David O’Driscoll

Walthamstow FC will be approaching the upcoming season in the manner it finished last season, with confidence, but also now in some style. Stow won their first away game at Ipswich Wanderers 2-0, wearing the most talked about, and arguably most stylish football kit this pre-season.
This kit was well covered by all the major media outlets and created a significant stir. It was developed over three years and was masterminded locally with the aid of art collective Wood Street Walls, the William Morris Gallery and Walthamstow FC.
The shirt pattern chosen via the museum archives is based on ‘yare’ by John Henry Dearle, the former apprentice of William Morris. The shirt features the museum’s logo on the front. The club announced the kit with a stylish video shot at the old pie and mash shop L Manze in Walthamstow Market and at the William Morris Gallery. The collaboration is the first time a museum and a football club have come together to fashion a kit.
Hadrian Gerrard, director of the William Morris Gallery (which is just down the road from the Stow FC home ground), said: “We’re proud to support our local Walthamstow FC through this unique collaboration. William Morris Gallery is part of a very special community here in north-east London and this is a great way for us to bring the work of Morris out of the gallery and into the streets and football pitches for next season.”
While the cost of the shirts is not cheap, it must be remembered that some of the proceeds of sales will go towards helping to establish a Stow women’s football team. Moreover, due to the phenomenal demand, with orders from across the globe, the kit promptly sold out. However, the club are keen to say that it will be soon available at the ground and at the William Morris Gallery to purchase.
Walthamstow FC centre forward, Duncan Culley, was delighted with the new kit, and the buzz it has generated. He said: “I managed to obtain a shirt to wear at Stamford Bridge” – home of his beloved Chelsea. Culley is also confident about the upcoming season. Walthamstow FC is now in the Isthmian North Division One league and will be looking east with many games in the Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk regions.
Culley believes having a core of last year’s successful team will prove vital to on the field success. “We’re all very excited to start the season and have looked good in our warm-up games. The group is really tight-knit already and I can see us continuing from where we were at the end of last season”. The matches will be coming thick and fast and the club hopes to see some new supporters cheering on this exciting and stylish team.
No news is bad news
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or annually
More Information about donations