Inside Le Peré's Soccer-Themed Collection With Bráulio Amado

Dan Q. Dao
Sun, 18 Dec 2022 17:10:53 +0000
Bráulio amado, Soccer, Capsule collection, Le peré

The World Cup final is in full swing today, and whether you're supporting Argentina or France, a colorful new capsule collection from le PÈRE and NYC-based graphic designer Bráulio Amado taps into the spirit of soccer even after the game is over.

Capturing the style of soccer jerseys from the '70s and '80s, the capsule collection takes inspiration from the world's most popular sport — and more specifically, Amado's experience growing up in Portugal and being "terrible at it." The jerseys feature original illustrations from Amado, who has previously worked with the likes of Frank Ocean and Roisin Murphy.

Related | The LGBTQ Community Is Being Sidelined at the World Cup

"I grew up in Portugal and soccer is obviously a huge thing there," Amado explains. "When I tried to play it in school I was always terrible at it, which means I would be often asked to be the goalie, which I was also terrible at and got hit with balls many times in my head. Maybe being clumsy and gay wasn’t the best combo for soccer, and I was somewhat intimidated by the macho energy, so instead I decided to focus on drawing and arts."

To celebrate the launch of the collection, the brand has released short film entitled BALIZA, directed by Amado and produced by Casper Films. The cheeky visual depicts gay soccer players humorously getting "butt-fucked" by the ball.

"When Le Père asked me to design some soccer jerseys I knew wanted to make them colorful and fun — also have some drawings of people getting hit in the head by balls," Amado added. "Initially, I thought it would be fun to do a short movie about a gay team that sexualizes getting injured while playing soccer, a bit like Cronenberg’s movie Crash. But I am no Cronenberg so instead we did a lo-fi silly movie of someone getting butt fucked by a ball."

Amado's pieces are part of le PÈRE's recent “Another Version of Myself” Collection II, which also features work from Cherry Kim and Noah Baker. Every item is produced in Italy and across Europe in limited quantities. Swipe through to see the lookbook of Amado's collection, below.

Photos courtesy of le PÈRE