[Editor’s Note: Today we have a guest entry from Austin Chen, who runs the uniform brand Equipt Studios. As you may recall, I collaborated with him last year on the Uni Watch soccer jerseys. He’s come up with a new soccer-related apparel project that I think you’ll really enjoy hearing about. — Paul]
By Austin Chen
Back in March, my wife gave birth to our first child. To say that the following months were hectic would be an understatement — moms and dads, you know what I’m talking about!
Amidst the chaos, I somehow latched onto the idea that the calming and friendly patterns typically found on baby clothes might translate well into soccer jerseys. Attempting to prove this ended up being the perfect project to help keep me sane. It was something lighthearted that I could work on at my own pace and in small increments.
First I cobbled together a generic soccer-style roundel logo featuring my son’s initials:
Then I fleshed out a few proofs of concept and realized that this idea actually had legs. Again, I wasn’t creating soccer-themed onesies; I was creating onesie-themed soccer jerseys. And I was just doing mock-ups, not manufacturing the real thing. Here’s an example:
I also decided that short-form videos on TikTok would be perfect for showcasing each design. Every jersey would be presented in three segments. Here’s the video for the design I just showed you:
@equiptstudios baby onesie soccer jerseys, part 5 ft. @redbull @redbullusa #fyp #parenting #parentsoftiktok #babytok #babiesoftiktok
By condensing everything into bite-sized pieces, I hoped to appeal to both parents and non-parents, soccer fans and non-fans, people who Get It™ and people who don’t. Here’s another example — baby photo, mock-up, and video:
@equiptstudios baby onesie soccer jerseys, part 2 #parenting #babiesoftiktok #soccer #conceptkits
The format seemed to work, racking up thousands of views per video — nowhere near “viral,” but I’m pleased with it nonetheless! You can see all the videos I’ve done so far here. (I’ve done these under the Equipt Studios banner for lack of anywhere else to put them, but it’s really a separate project meant solely for fun, rather than for any sort of brand-building or client acquisition.)
Now, a disclaimer: I’m fully aware that ads on uniforms are polarizing, particularly in soccer, where they’re so prominently featured. As a form of subversion, I used this as an opportunity to turn well-known sponsor logos into something relevant or to reference baby product brands – sort of a “If you know, you know” kind of thing for parents. Here are all the ones I’ve done so far:
I hope you enjoy, and if there’s one takeaway from this project it’s this: Design inspiration can truly come from anywhere!
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Paul here. What a fun project — please join me in thanking Austin for sharing it with us!
It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it de-sludges…
I thought I saw a video on Uni-Watch yesterday about the Bengals introducing a new throwback helmet with “BENGALS” on each side, just like their original helmet. Did it turn out to be a hoax, or did I imagine it?
It wasn’t a hoax — it was a misinterpretation of the situation by me, so I removed the post.
Thank you for your reply. I am getting old and thought my mind was playing tricks on me. I feel better.
Love that design project. With 2 small kids, I definitely relate :)
Likewise. I’d have been all over these back when my kids were that age. But Junior is starting high school and he’s about as tall as me so I am out of that market…
Someone needs to tell him that the market on pajama pants has already been cornered by MLB players.
Those soccer jerseys were cool, but it’s a shame that he passed on Drive Elephant.
Man, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!
What a great idea an excellent execution! And some really nice design elements as well. I liked the thick to thin stripes contrast on the Baby Shark jersey.
Thanks! The design actually started with stripes of equal width, but it didn’t look quite dynamic enough.
That is too cute! Well done.
Some of these were really good. The one with the Carter’s logo just felt right, and I got a good chuckle out of several of the others (Polarbear, Fly Elephant, Dinobet, etc.).
All that being said, if you could get the Pinkfong license, you’d have the world’s best-selling soccer jersey there. My kids would make me buy at least two apiece.
I LOVE these!!! So cute! Now try the opposite- “baby”-ifying real soccer jerseys
Funnily enough, I was just telling Paul how my wife and I used a onesie version of a Chelsea FC jersey to announce the pregnancy to my family. I can’t even begin to imagine the licensing hoops required to actually manufacture and sell something like that though!
Austin: congrats on your new arrival, and I love the soccer jerseys! I’d totally buy one with a Tubby Todd logo on the front, just sayin’…
Now there’s a good idea for a sponsor! I’m going to file that idea away for the next one…
Those onesie jerseys are awesome! Well done.
I totally scrolled past this post. Thought it was an ad, but then couldn’t find the can of the day!
I find it interesting that you refer to these as onesies, as I would only call the Baby Shark one a onesie (no legs, usually short sleeves). I would call the garments with long sleeves and long pants with integral feet “sleepers” or “footy pajamas”. I call the ones that put both legs in one big enclosure a “sleep sack.”
Congrats on the new baby, by the way. My third child was just born 3-1/2 weeks ago.
You’re absolutely right. I found that it was easier to refer to them all as “onesies” since non-parents aren’t really as in tune with the proper terminology.
Congrats on the new one!
I usually skip most of the posts that aren’t about what players are wearing on the field, but I am happy that I came back and read this one. I felt a fun shot of nostalgia seeing a lot of those brand names that I haven’t thought about since my kids were little, and the ones I didn’t recognize made me realize how old my kids are. Great job!
Definitely prefer this type of Uni-content to the impassioned debates over the nickname space of the Washington, Nashville, and Houston! All about design and aesthetics and the creative process. And all of these would be suitable for actual soccer/football teams, if a bit unlikely.