Every kit design that leaves our studio has a story stitched into it - your club's. But there's another story most clubs never hear: the one about who actually makes it. This August, we're changing that. Welcome to #behindthekit, our series on the people and the process behind every My Club shirt.
When your new kit arrives and the whole squad looks right - colours sharp, sizing consistent, everything sitting the way it should - that's not luck, and it's not a machine. It's people. Let's meet them...
Maribel: the Designer who Started on a Beach
Maribel is our Head of Design and Product Development, and she's been making things her whole life. At nine, she finished her first big project: a school bag for her books, cross-stitched with her name, fully lined, inside pocket and all. By thirteen she was repairing her brothers' clothes; by sixteen, making garments for family and friends.
Before sportswear, she spent more than twenty years in fit-focused apparel design. She mastered the corner of fashion where a few millimetres decide whether a garment works. Sport was always in the family too. Her dad was a professional footballer and rower, her brother teaches tennis, and she trains most weeks herself.
“I understand how clothing needs to perform, fit and move with the body. That real-life experience helps me create products that genuinely work for the people wearing them.”
The project she's proudest of
When Maribel joined My Club, one thing genuinely surprised her... Women were buying men's shirts in smaller sizes, because a dedicated women's range simply didn't exist. So she built one. A complete women's range designed for women's bodies and performance needs from the very beginning, not adapted down from men's patterns.
“Women deserve sportswear designed specifically for their bodies, not scaled-down versions of men's products. Seeing women wear the range with confidence, and hearing their feedback, makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
Natalia: the job that found her
If Maribel decides how your kit should look and fit, Natalia Pronina is one of the people who makes sure it actually does - on every shirt, in every size, every time. She's our Junior Garment Technologist, three years in, and her route here couldn't be more different.
“It's a very long story. It definitely found me rather than the other way around.”
Natalia came from a completely different background and landed in garment technology almost by accident, after being invited to work on the Play for Ukraine project. She's been trained entirely in-house since - starting in our Production Department, now working under Maribel's guidance. No fashion degree, no design-school portfolio.
“There is always something new to learn. Continuous learning helps me grow both personally and professionally.”
The most important work you'll never see
Ask Natalia what she's proudest of and she won't point to a design. She'll point to the measurement specifications and technical packs she's built for every garment we supply - the documents that make our sizing consistent and our fit reliable. She also created our fabric reference code system, a shared language between our factories and product teams that means the right fabric ends up in the right garment, every time.
It's the least glamorous part of kit-making and one of the most important. If you've ever reordered a shirt through our Client Portal two seasons later and had it match the original perfectly, you've seen Natalia's work without knowing it.
Jacob: The Designer Behind Your Complex Designs
Ever wondered who designs your actual kit artwork? Meet Jacob! The designer behind all your complex, wild, and wonderful designs.
"I got into design because I've always liked the act of creating something meaningful, which kit design provides me the opportunity of doing through fulfilling the vision of the customer."
"My favourite part of the creation process is finding an original design that really inspires me and can help influence other future designs choices I make."
Want to test Jacob's design skills? Contact us with your intricate design ideas, and work with him to bring them to life!
What this means for your club
Between them, Maribel, Jacob and Natalia are the answer to that question - what are we actually paying for? The honest answer is a process most kit suppliers never run at all: fit sessions with real models, wearer trials by our own team, wash and durability testing, and spec sheets checked until “close enough” becomes “right”. Plenty of suppliers will print your crest on a stock template and call it custom. This is the difference.
“The small details make a huge difference to the final product.”
Your club brings the story - the colours, the crest, the history. This team makes sure the kit that carries it is worthy of it.
Follow the series
#BehindTheKit runs every Tuesday and Thursday through August on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn - fabric, fit, mood boards and the bits nobody ever sees.
Want to be a designer yourself? Try our free Kit Builder and get your creativity for next season's kit flowing!
