We’re proud to announce a partnership with heritage British knitwear brand Warm & Wonderful that will result in the Dons wearing a one-off kit for the Harrogate game.
The kit, inspired by Warm & Wonderful’s iconic “black sheep” sweater, will be worn by our players on Good Friday, 29th March.
Proceeds raised from limited edition sales, as well as an auction organised by our partners MatchWornShirt, will be donated to two charities: War Child, a charity that has been helping children affected by conflict since 1993, and the AFC Wimbledon Foundation, which provides sporting opportunities for people of all ages in our local community.
War Child was chosen as a beneficiary, with their logo featuring on the sleeve, by our front of shirt partner Sports Interactive who maintain a long-running relationship with the charity.
The shirt will be worn in the pre-match warm-up and a stripped-back playing version – adapted to meet EFL rules – will be worn for the game itself.
The design is a result of a close collaboration between Warm & Wonderful founders Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, who first created the iconic “Black Sheep” motif in 1979; Jack Carlson of the cult clothing brand Rowing Blazers, who helped bring Warm & Wonderful back into business in 2019; and AFC Wimbledon Branding and Digital Transformation Lead Marc Jones.
“As part of my role with the Club, I’m keen to push our story into new areas,” said Marc. “Other clubs have collaborated with brands to increase their exposure and reach and this is a chance for us to show a little of who we are to a new audience.
“Rowing Blazers is a brand I have been following for some time and we have a shared energy for standing out from the crowd. We’d already committed to the shirt takeover to benefit the War Child charity and as the colours tied up with Warm & Wonderful’s iconic design it all fitted together to draw attention and raise funds.
“The slightly tweaked playing version will instantly become one of, if not the, rarest Wimbledon shirts you could own."
Bal Srai, Head of Revenue and Operations added, “There have been a lot of moving parts to make this collaboration happen and we would like to thank Umbro for being able to turn around the shirts so quickly. Also, we would like to thank Qualco and Rose Capital Partners for donating their advertising on our shirts for two fantastic causes. We hope to raise as much as possible with all proceeds from the 500 retail shirts and the auction split 50/50 between War Child and our Foundation.”
The shirt can be seen first when we celebrate our longstanding partnership with Sports Interactive — the longest-running such relationship in English football — with a special event on Wednesday, 27 March at Cherry Red Records Stadium’s Viticult Lounge, showcasing the history of both the studio and the club over the last 21 years.
The promotional shoot was photographed by Louis Bever at the Cherry Red Records Stadium and features men’s team players Jack Currie and Aron Sasu, women’s team players Skye Bacon, Ella Newman and Kelly-Jade Whelan, a cameo from kitman Robin “Rocket” Bedford along with FA Cup winning captain Dave Beasant and Warm & Wonderful founders Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne.
The retail shirt be released at an event hosted by Classic Football Shirts in Shoreditch, London, on Thursday, 28 March, before making an on-pitch debut the following day with online and in-store sales in our club shop commencing at 11am.
