A team of seven fashion students from the University of Northampton are set to bring a new creative edge to Northampton Town Football Club (NTFC) after being invited to design concepts for the club’s future kits and retail collections.
Second and third-year Fashion, Textiles and Footwear students Niall Walker, Dougie Evans, Ciaran Beeby, Dominic Kerridge, Joanna Penc, Jamie Pankovics and Alice Homer will work collaboratively on an exciting live brief that challenges them to reimagine walk-on jackets, limited line retail pieces, and the club’s increasingly popular third kit, used for competitive league and cup matches during the season.
The project gives students the opportunity to contribute ideas that could influence official matchday kits or become standalone retail pieces sold in the club shop.
From researching NTFC’s heritage and historic colour palettes to exploring contemporary fashion and music trends, the brief encourages both creativity and commercial awareness.
Second-year student Alice Homer is eager to get started. She said: “I’m grateful to be a part of the project because I come from a family of football enthusiasts, so I took the opportunity to be involved in the football world from a different perspective. This is super exciting opportunity for me to get involved with.
“Visiting the stadium and having a look around was very fun and felt professional, and I can’t wait to start creating a new look for NTFC.”
Retail and merchandise play a vital role in modern football clubs, and NTFC has been clear that bold, innovative ideas are welcome. While traditional elements remain central to the home kit, the third kit and lifestyle ranges offer opportunities for more adventurous concepts.
Students will have access to the club’s historical kit archives and technical insights, as well as behind-the-scenes experiences including stadium visits and matchday access to help inform their designs.
Initial mood boards and early concepts will be presented to NTFC representatives later this month, with final presentations to club leaders and commercial partners scheduled for June 2026.
Supporting the students from the sidelines will be the University’s Deputy Head of School of Art & Design, Jane Mills, who emphasised the real-world value of the collaboration. She said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to apply their creativity within a live commercial environment. Working directly with a professional football club allows them to think beyond the studio and consider brand identity, heritage and audience in a meaningful way.
“Experiences like this are invaluable for building confidence, industry awareness and strong portfolios.”
In offering current students the opportunity to contribute fresh thinking to the world of football fashion, this project is the latest in a long line of successful industry collaborations between the University and NTFC’s decade-long partnership.
As preparations for the new season begin, supporters may soon see the influence of Northampton’s emerging design talent reflected both on the pitch and in the stands.
“We are delighted to work with the students on this project,” said Northampton Town Football Club Commercial Director, James Corrigan.
“This is just the latest example of the long running partnership between the club and the University of Northampton working together. The students have unique access to ‘real world’ situations in a professional football club and the chance to shape some of the club’s retail range moving forward, while the club benefits from having access to the skills of some very talented young students who can help us deliver some quality products to our supporters.
“Throughout the club’s operations we are seeing examples of students helping the club and gaining experience that others just don’t have access to, and that is one of the main benefits of the fantastic partnership we have with the University of Northampton.”