The OneFootball collection with Zack Steffen A concrete example of how football can help combat racism and discrimination
Designed in Berlin and presented in Manchester, a few days ago OneFootball unveiled the new collection created with Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen, featuring six different items designed to promote equality and social justice. It's also a special collection because all proceeds from the collection will go to VOYCENOW, a non-profit created by Zack and former American teammate Alex Crognale, and supported by athletes around the world. VOYCENOW was founded in 2020, following the tragic death of George Floyd, with the sole mission of providing equal opportunities to all young people from minority backgrounds through sport and education.
The collection also gave us the opportunity to talk in depth with Zack Steffen, who answered our questions and underlined the importance of a project that aims to emphasise that there is no room for racism on or off the field.
Where did the inspiration for these 6 items come from?
"We centred this campaign around the rose, which is a symbol of courage and resistance... It may be a symbol of a peaceful revolution, but the thorns are a reminder that there is a bite there! We started off by creating a goalkeeper jersey which is our hero piece, with a club crest which emphasises the fact that we are a team and working together as one. I’m a big fan of the old school goalie jerseys with the collar so we had include that and there’s also a thorn jacquard pattern across the entire jersey.
We didn’t want to stop there so we decided to create a full capsule collection with two tees and cropped hoodie that have reflective prints highlighting a positive message and two lifestyle items; a cargo jacket and pants."
What made you decide to collaborate with OneFootball and VOYCENOW?
I set up VoyceNow with my former team mate and good friend Alex Crognale after the murder of George Floyd in the States, we wanted to educate youth and provide funding for minority groups who otherwise wouldn't have this support. We at VoyceNow always wanted to delve into the world of fashion as a means to raise funds but never had the full capacity or resources to do so on a large scale, as we are still in our infancy as an organisation!
I was put in touch with the brilliant team at OneFootball through a friend of mine and from there we got talking about how we could produce high quality garments with powerful messaging and carry on this movement against hate!The team at OneFootball amazed me with their skillset and creativity and through working closely between both the OneFootball and VoyceNow teams, we have come up with this capsule! Which I am excited to now say is live!
