Grenfell Athletic’s New Kit Is Created From Fabrics That Survived the Grenfell Fire
Including some garments worn by the fire’s survirors on the night of their escape.
The Grenfell Tower fire was one of the most appalling tragedies in recent British history. The two-day blaze killed 72 people and in turn, led to a national uproar. Still to this day, millions of Brits remember those who lost their lives during the fire, with communities regularly coming together through a slew of different mediums. One community-driven collective that was launched off the back of the Grenfell fire is Grenfell Athletic FC, a local grassroots football team that was founded to help young men come together. The football club — launched by Rupert Taylor — has just unveiled a brand-new football kit, made in collaboration with Nike and Kitlocker, that features cuts of fabric donated from items of clothing that survived the Grenfell fire, including some garments worn by the survivors on the night of their escape.
The new kits have been launched under a project titled “Fabric of the Community,” with each shirt designed to include a subtle perimeter area surrounding the club crest, reserved for a bespoke cut of fabric. One survivor from the Grenfell fire was Nick Burton, whose wife was tragically the 72nd victim of the fire. He donated the shirt worn on the night of the fire, using this project as a moment to gain further closure from the incident.
Commenting on the donation of his shirt for the “Fabric of the Community Campaign,” Mr Burton said: “This is one of the only connections that I have to my home. I feel that it’s time to let go and now it will live on as part of the fabric of the community – the community that is everything to us.”
The clean-cut shirt, which will be worn by Grenfell Athletic’s men’s and women’s teams during the 2024/25 season, is designed with NFC technology that’s intricately crafted into the shirts by Kitlocker, allowing fans to digitally interact with the kit, as an NFC chip is embedded behind the club badge, thus linking to a touching video that relates to the shirt’s donated fabric.
Along with victims of the Grenfell fire, several non-local supporters of the club have also donated to the campaign, including Hector Bellerin who donated a match-worn shirt from his time at Arsenal. One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has also donated one of his treasured Doncaster Rovers shirts.
Take a closer look at the Grenfell Athletic jersey above and be sure to buy yours now via Kitlocker.
