The football terraces are where fashion & football collide, and where a lot of brands we love today earnt their stripes. Originally a spot to support your local whilst donning their club colours, terrace wear has evolved over the years to now become a culture in it's own right - evolving from those first European away day trips & fans of the 70s & 80s.
What is Terrace Wear?
Terrace wear or terrace fashion refers to the attire football fans sport while watching their team from the stands or terraces of a stadium. This movement gained prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s when successful British teams playing in Europe exposed their travelling fans to the stylish fashion of their European counterparts. These fans were inspired to incorporate these looks into the British football scene.
Designer sportswear brands like Sergio Tacchini, Lacoste, and Fila, previously unseen in the UK, became popular as returning fans brought their new purchasing items back home with them, sparking a demand for European sportswear in Britain.
Though this subculture initially lacked a name, these fans later became known as the casuals due to their preference for casual designer sportswear brands. Terrace fashion has evolved significantly since the 1970s. British brands, more suited to the harsh British winters than their European counterparts, have gradually become integral to the look.
In recent times, terrace wear has shifted from strictly designer sportswear to incorporating a broader range of designer labels for a day at the football. Today, the resurgence of terrace fashion is fuelled by the street-style offerings of more upmarket brands like Fred Perry and Barbour, keeping the spirit of this movement alive for younger generations of football fans.
Where did Terrace Wear start?
While some attribute the origins of terrace wear or casual dressing to Manchester's Perry Boys, others trace it back to Liverpool, crediting the fans who travelled to watch Liverpool play in the European Cup.
Manchester's Perry Boys were a subculture that emerged in the late 1970s. Enthusiastic about Glam Rock, Motown, and stylish -perry' wedge haircuts, they adopted expensive European sportswear as part of their look after observing it while following Manchester United across Europe.
Similarly, Liverpool fans, traveling to support their team in the European Cup, were captivated by the fashions of their continental counterparts. Brands like Lacoste, Paul & Shark, Sergio Tacchini, Fila, and Diadora caught their attention, and some fans reportedly looted stores to bring these styles back to the UK, which gained certain groups quite a bad reputation on away day trips overseas.
In the late 1970s, casual or terrace wear was not solely about fashion; it initially developed out of necessity. Die-hard football fans across the country were often part of other subcultures, such as the skinheads, who were frequently associated with violence. To manage violent clashes between rival firms at football matches, police began to enforce measures like making skinheads remove and de-lace their Dr. Martens and leave them outside the football grounds, rendering them more vulnerable inside.
By opting for expensive sportswear and trainers instead of their usual skinhead attire, these fans could more easily evade authorities, appearing as wealthier football fans unlikely to engage in violence and risk ruining their clothing. While this tactic didn't eliminate violence, it did enable these fans to enter football grounds unnoticed.
Although it is referred to now, memoirs and biographies from that era indicate that the term 'casuals' was not yet in use; this generation of fashion-conscious football hooligans was simply known as 'the boys.'
The casual era was not solely territorial and violent; it was equally about fashion. At times, fans were more likely to face verbal attacks for wearing unfashionable sportswear than physical confrontations over territory. Nevertheless, terrace fashion, or casuals, helped to ignite a love for casual sportswear in the 1980s, which eventually spread across Britain.
80s Casuals Football Fashion
The casual sportswear trend surged in the '80s. Initially, it celebrated European sportswear, but this changed dramatically when UEFA revised its rules, limiting the European Cup and Cup Winners' Cup competitions to a single team from each nation. This significantly restricted British fans' access to European sportswear brands.
The harsh British weather and reduced availability of European clothing led football fashion to increasingly adopt homegrown brands like Fred Perry, Scottish knitwear brands such as Pringle, and British brand Aquascutum, valued for its weatherproof fabrics and stylish look. By the end of the '80s, the rise of Manchester, rave, and acid house movements saw the casual subculture begin to wane as football fans embraced new trends.
Terrace Fashion Today
Although hooliganism is a thing of the past, the casual aesthetic lives on in football fashion today, with terrace wear now being all about looking good for the game. Many popular brands from the subculture's history, such as Sergio Tacchini, Fila Vintage, Lacoste, Fred Perry, Lois Jeans & Diadora can still be seen on football terraces up and down the country and now across the world.
Shop our 80s Casuals clothing collection below, filled with these brands deeply rooted in football fashion & perfect for the upcoming Euros 2024 competition in Germany.
80s Casuals