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Scotland's national football team will be sporting a slice of Jersey on their feet throughout the Euros 2020 tournament thanks to a local designer.
Unseen Footwear – the brainchild of Roulette Clothing Director David Cullen – has supplied 38 pairs to Scotland’s squad and coaching staff.
Each trainer in the brand’s collection, whose clean and understated style was intended as a rebellion against “brand-driven mania” when it launched in 2019, is named after a parish in Jersey.
Scotland’s Captain, Andy Robertson, selected the ‘Clement’ design – with a few bespoke twists to “clean up” the design – as a base for the formal kit the team will don as they travel between their hotel and the pitch.
Hampden Park, we've arrived.
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 14, 2021
Thanks to @royleeleven and @unseenfootwear for supplying the squad's formal wear.#EURO2020 | #SCO pic.twitter.com/sKq2RKlWz1
Ensuring the sneakers reached the team on time was a “nail-biting”, David says.
“We got the call-up last minute, pardon the pun, and basically they asked if we could make the shoes. They decided against wearing formal suits so they went for a smart-looking tracksuit and a friend of mine that’s got the brand got in touch with the SFA… The brief was a super clean white trainer to go with the navy tracksuit,” David explained.
While Brexit-related bureaucracy played a part in complicating the process, Unseen’s next collection was already in production in Italy, which helped expedite the manufacturing process.
Fortunately, the trainers landed just on time over the weekend, and fittings took place yesterday morning.
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The Clements’ first outing came moments before the match – something David, himself a football fan, said he could have “never visualised” when he first launched the brand.
Being a supplier of the Scottish team holds special significance for him, he explained – his parents are both Scottish and he fondly recalls enacting England v Scotland matches as a student at De La Salle “20-odd years ago.”
“The last time Scotland were in a main tournament, my dad and brother went to France in ‘98 – I couldn’t go for work commitments. Even though I’ve been brought up in Jersey, I think living in Jersey makes you a bit more proud of being Scottish,” he said.
“I’m really proud to be part of the Scotland campaign – it means a lot to me and my family, so it was nice to get it across the line.”
Sadly, the team didn’t win first game yesterday against Czech Republic at Hampden Park – the opponents won 2-0, with a record-breaking strike from around 50 yards from Patrik Schick – but that didn’t diminish the thrill of seeing his designs at the feet of the national team.
Gutted. Stay positive pic.twitter.com/Y0pyJXc8lF
— Andy Robertson (@andrewrobertso5) June 14, 2021
While an avid Celtic fan, some of the players David was most excited to see sporting Unseen were the Premier League's Kieran Tierney (Arsenal), Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea), and, of course, captain Andy Robertson (Liverpool).
It was also a boost before the launch of the next collection in July – Unseen's first unisex series – and readying himself for Spring-Summer 2022.
“All the styles have been made in a women’s and men’s sizing and we’re launching exclusives with three of our partners: Selfridges, Browns and Flannels,” David said.
The women’s collection will be launched exclusively with Farfetch-owned luxury boutique Browns - one of David’s “favourite stores”, which unveiled its new flagship in London in April.
Contrary to what he first thought, the pandemic and resulting lockdown ended up proving a positive for Unseen.
Pictured: One of the first Unseen collections in Roulette.
“I thought covid would set us back, but it gave me the time to research into the production,” he said, noting that the unisex line will also include Unseen’s first “fully sustainable trainer”.
Getting the brand to where it is today has “not happened overnight” and certainly been challenging at times, according to David, but supplying the Scottish national team and making it into revered stores has made it worth it.
David previously spoke to Connect about his inspiration for the brand. CLICK HERE to read more.
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