Strip Tees is an independent, locally owned football label, born in Australia in 2018 to make the invisible game visible.
It started with a grievance, the way most worthwhile things do. We loved football — the proper, round-ball kind — and we wanted to wear that on our chest. But the racks told a sorry story: past the official club gear, you were choosing between cheap knock-offs and designs so grim you'd only ever wear them to mow the lawn.
We wanted something different. A shirt you could wear to the game that wouldn't look out of place at dinner or drinks afterwards. Something that shares stories about the Australian game without bellowing it. We couldn't find it anywhere — so, being the sort of people who can never quite let a thing lie, we sat down and made it ourselves.
Since then, we've been sharing our passion for football and design with fellow football fans in Australia and around the world. Along the way, we've managed to pop up on TV in Australia, the UK and the USA. We've even had our work exhibited in galleries including the National Library of Australia in Canberra. The coolest part of our job though is collaborating with bona fide football icons like Simon Hill.
- Established
- 2018, Australia
- Featured on TV
- Australia · UK · USA
- Exhibited
- National Library of Australia
- Ownership
- 100% independent & local
Our purpose
Making the invisible game visible
To pinch a phrase from the great Sokkah scholar Ian Syson: ours is the invisible game. Which is a peculiar thing to say about the most-played sport in the country — the one that hauls record crowds out of bed at all hours for the Matildas and Socceroos, the one with the only genuinely national league we've got.
And yet. No media love to speak of. No political clout. No statues, no purpose-built stadia, no agreed-upon folklore. No visible heroes, no tended history, no culture you'd notice from the outside. Squint at the back pages and you'd swear we never existed.
Which is mad, because no game holds a mirror to this country quite like football does. The passion, the noise, the glorious mess of it — and the way it has always made room for everyone, from the oldest Australians, like John Moriarty and Charlie Perkins, to the millions of newcomers who now call this place home.
Our job, as we see it, is to drag a few of those moments into the daylight. We work alongside the official stuff, never against it, holding up the particular character of Australian fan culture. That's why we call it fan art. And let's be honest: football in this country could do with all the positive fanning it can get.
Independent
Being 100% independent and locally owned reads like boilerplate until you see what it gets you: designs you'll never find on a mall rack. We answer to nobody but the game, so you can wear the unsung heroes the big brands overlook — people like Sandra Brentnall — right beside the household names, whatever their gender, race or sexuality. In short, a shirt with an actual point of view — and one that, as the name suggests, doesn't take itself too seriously.
Quality
Our digital print-on-demand approach cuts out the overstock, the warehouses and the mark-ups that come with them — so you're not paying for stock gathering dust in a back room, and prices stay keen. What lands on your doorstep is a properly made tee, printed locally in Brisbane and Melbourne on ethically sourced, CPSIA-compliant materials. Better on your wallet, kinder to the planet.
Community
Community isn't a tidy line for the mission statement; it's the entire point — and every order chips in. We've backed the Football Supporters Association Australia, teamed up with Simon Hill for the Moriarty Foundation, raised funds for the Reagan Milstein Foundation, and supported DT38 through Sokkah Aid. So your new favourite shirt does a bit of good on the side. Got a cause close to your heart? Come and find us.
The people
About our artists
We're lucky enough to work with some of the sharpest creative minds going around — and that's not just us being big-headed (well, not entirely). Between them they've collected nearly as many gongs as Sam Kerr, and you've almost certainly seen their work for some of the biggest brands here and overseas, even if you didn't clock it at the time.
The thread that ties them together is a love of football and design in equal measure. Wander into the studio on the right afternoon and you're as likely to catch an argument about Rodchenko as one about Ronaldo.
Shop nowWhich football club has the best crest in Australia?
We're football people to the bone — but we couldn't resist ranking every professional club crest in the country, rival codes and all: AFL, NRL, A-League and Super Rugby, marked against seven design criteria. (Reader, it got heated.) Did the round-ball game come out on top?
View the full leaderboardFrequently asked questions
When was Strip Tees founded?
Strip Tees was founded in 2018 in Australia, born out of frustration with the lack of quality, independent local football merchandise.
What does Strip Tees sell?
Strip Tees designs and sells independent football "fan art" — tees and merch celebrating the round-ball game, from the NSL, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas to football history, culture and the international game.
Does Strip Tees design for AFL, NRL or rugby?
No. We cater for every flavour of the round-ball game — soccer, football, association football, even a bit of 'wogball' — but we don't design for rugby, AFL or league. We once ranked every code's club crest in a light-hearted blog, but our products are dedicated entirely to the round-ball game.
Where are Strip Tees products made?
Most products are printed locally in Brisbane and Melbourne using digital print-on-demand technology and only ethically sourced, CPSIA-compliant materials.
Is Strip Tees an official or independent brand?
Strip Tees is 100% independent and 100% locally owned. It works alongside official merchandise as "fan art" reflecting Australian fan culture, rather than as an officially licensed club product.
Does Strip Tees support football causes?
Yes. Strip Tees has backed the Football Supporters Association Australia and supported good causes including its collaboration with Simon Hill for the Moriarty Foundation, fundraising for the Reagan Milstein Foundation, and DT38 through Sokkah Aid.