Dig into the history of most towns north of London and you’ll find proud manufacturing heritage. All across the midlands and the north of England, the course of the 20th century was quite literally woven and knitted and small villages grew into vast conurbations, each with their own specialisation.
Sportswear is by its very definition designed to give a competitive edge. As a result, the world is swimming in contemporary tech brands, keen to get ahead of their competitors. In football, the referee may be assisted by technology these days, but his ACME whistle is the same timeless item used in the 19th century.
Whilst a classic sweatshirt may now be a wardrobe staple that’s as ubiquitous as a pair of jeans, it’s roots are firmly based in the world of twentieth-century sportswear. Originating in the same era that Admiral began, the sweatshirt was first engineered in the 1920s as a more comfortable alternative to scratchy woollen training top jerseys.
Originally designed as underwear for the Navy, the T-shirt as we know it may now be an icon of fashion. But the popularity of this universally loved wardrobe staple owes a huge debt to the world of twentieth-century sportswear.
Words by Neil Summers
Leicester is the place where everything started for us and we’ve always acknowledged that our success is a result of the high production values, incredible attention to detail and sheer dedication put into our clothing by the people who live and work there.
We started life back in 1903 based in the textile town of Wigston, Leicestershire. Our founders Christopher Cook, and Harold Hurst and a small group of local employees manned the eight machines used to create our high-quality woollen underwear.
