The strange history of the laced up collars From the turn of the century to Umbro's revival for the first Premier League season, highs and lows of the strangest collars ever

Laced up jersey collars are one of the most defining elements of style and era, from polo-style raised collars, V-shaped collars that reach up to the chest, or the ultra-lightweight crew neck collars that are so fashionable now. But none summarizes an aesthetic and an idea of design as much as the collar with the laces that intertwine to hold together the two flaps of fabric. A style that belongs to the first models adopted during the beginning of the last century, when the materials did not allow to make high-performance and lightweight jerseys as now and we relied on designs very similar to those used for everyday t-shirts. 

The laced-up collar was used extensively then in football archaeology, especially in England when there was little difference between football and rugby jerseys and goalkeepers still used thick wool sweaters that bulged in the rain. A necessity to create comfortable jerseys without resorting to the use of buttons, small treasures at the time, which would allow you to unfasten without giving way, but that suddenly came back into fashion in the early '90s thanks mainly to the work of Umbro. The English brand that perhaps like no other has defined the style with which football was played during the nineties has undoubtedly signed one of the most iconic kits of its production by adding this vintage touch to the collars.

More than a century after its first appearance on a soccer field, the lace remains one of the most curious accessories seen on jerseys, capable of making them immediately timeless, suspended between a deep historical identity and a leap into Sherwood forest.