Football fashion back to basics

Berlin: The days of shiny textures and complex, garish designs are over -- football fashion has gone back to basics and the World Cup finals, which kick off on Friday, showcase a return to simple styles.

"I think there is more pressure to make a timeless design when it is for the World Cup," says Mark Hooper, style editor for Esquire men's lifestyle magazine in London.

"There is also a big responsibility on shirt designers because this summer the pubs will be full of lads wearing football shirts and they would upset a lot of people if they produced bad shirts," he added.

The Netherlands have the most obviously classic and impressive design of all -- Nike have produced a basic orange shirt with a high collar and no trimming at all for Marco van Basten's team.

Puma's shirt for Iran is pure, uncluttered white -- typical of the company's switch to monocoloured shirts for all of their 12 teams at the finals although the choice of striped socks for some teams may raise eyebrows.

Rival German company Adidas have gone 'retro' with Spain's red shirt with yellow pinstripes recalling some of the German company's shirts from the early 1980's.

Bucking the trend, one of the few teams to go for a graphical element are England whose Umbro shirt incorporates the St George's flag on the right shoulder.

"Why not just leave it?" says Hooper, "It is a bit of a shame but at least there are no longer those 'fleckles' on the shirt".

There are however still some kits which may make discerning eyes sore. Fans are used to Croatia's red and white chequered shirt, reflecting their national flag, but it remains a highly unusual design.

Italian company Lotto's blue shirt for Serbia and Montenegro features jarring white flashes while Italy's otherwise classic 'Azzurro' shirt has been criticised for the dark shaded panels under the arms which can easily be mistaken for perspiration.

Italian style is better found off the field -- England's formal wear has been designed by Giorgio Armani while the Italian team itself is dressed by Dolce and Gabbana.

If there is one shirt that is most identified with the World Cup it is the gold with green trimming of Brazil which has shown little more than the slightest alteration over the years.

"You can't mess with that shirt too much," says Hooper.