A festival celebrating the fashion and culture of women in football is coming to Liverpool

A festival celebrating women in football – the fashion, culture and passion – is coming to Liverpool this weekend.

Get Your Kits Out Festival and exhibition is being held at The Florrie in Dingle, Liverpool on Saturday September 28, bringing together designers, talks, workshops, live music and DJs.

Like the name suggests, there’ll be a fashion market with a chance to buy footy-related clothing collections and accessories from great independent brands as well as merch collaborations and resale shirts for adults and kids.

And, for anyone who loves a car boot treasure hunt, A Store Like 94 will be bringing their Tour De Tat to the festival, with a car boot sale full of rare memorabilia sourced from flea markets across Europe.

Get Your Kits Out has been created by Jacqui McAssey, the founder of GIRLFANS which she launched over a decade ago to put a fanzine spotlight on female football supporters of all ages and from all clubs.

Jacqui is a designer and senior lecturer at Liverpool School of Art and Design and recently winner in Arts Culture & Media at Merseyside Women of the Year.

Aware that almost a quarter of fans going to Premier League matches were women, but their stories were hardly ever told, she began photographing supporters in her home city.

She wanted the festival to be somewhere fans could meet in person to share their love of the game and the diverse culture surrounding it.

A big Reds fan herself, she was inspired by the rise in grassroots football in the city and football-linked trends, especially since the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 victory.

Jacqui explains:

“GIRLFANS highlighted a lack of visibility and equality in football, Get Your Kits Out is about equity. We are providing a space for women to sell their products, exhibit their football photography, or just to connect socially with like-minded people. We’re also celebrating what has happened since I published the first fanzine in 2013, how the culture and community surrounding women’s roles in football has evolved. 

“Liverpool is a football powerhouse, with successful women’s and men’s football teams, plus a growing grassroots scene that I’m part off, so launching it here seemed a natural fit.” 

A Grassroots Football-Fashion Market will feature clothing collections, accessories and homeware, plus an exclusive collaboration drop between Get Your Kits Out and reseller Football Shirt 101. That will include half-and-half dresses, denim battle jackets and football manager tailored blazers, all made from damaged shirts provided by Football Shirts 101.

There’ll also be Team Talks, with speakers discussing the crossover between football and fashion, upcycling and bracelet making workshops, and ‘Who Are Ya?’, an exhibition of work by local and international female football photographers.

A DJ Stage outside in The Florrie courtyard will have a line-up including Liverpool DJ Jade Edwards, Abbie Morris and Lucky Iris Band, and fans can enjoy indoor and outdoor bars and food. 

Get Your Kits Out Festival is on Saturday September 28 from 11am to 5pm (last entry 4pm).

You can find tickets for Get Your Kits Out in Liverpool here.

Find more events in Liverpool this week here.