Fabric of the Community

Client: Grenfell Athletic FC

We set out to provide the traumatised Grenfell community with a platform to share their most personal stories, raise funds for Grenfell Athletic FC, a community football club that supports them, and attract commercial partners.

We did something with Grenfell Athletic FC that Nike and Kitlocker tell us has never been done before.

We collected pieces of fabric that held special emotional significance from 30 individuals in the local community. These fabrics were carefully cut into patches, with the club badge placed on top. Hidden within each badge was an NFC chip, so when the wearer passed their phone over the crest, it triggered a film telling the story behind their specific patch. This created a direct, intimate, one-to-one relationship between the donor and the wearer.

This innovative use of technology transformed a football shirt into a biographical record of a traumatised community, forging a direct emotional connection between the wearer and the person who donated the fabric. The football shirt became something entirely different.

The campaign generated intense interest from brands eager to get involved, resulting in Grenfell Athletic Women’s Team securing a groundbreaking £50,000 sponsorship deal—one of the largest sponsorships in the history of women’s grassroots football. Moreover, nearly all 500 limited-edition shirts sold out in a short period, showcasing the community’s commitment and the campaign’s success in generating significant financial support.