Missouri vs. Kentucky

Three different jerseys, three different pairs of pants, seemingly countless variations on helmets … Missouris equipment staff has a glut of combinations to work with when it chooses a football uniform for the Tigers each week.

And work with them they have this season.

Headed into the regular season finale with Arkansas on Friday afternoon, Missouri has yet to repeat a uniform through the first 11 games in 2018. In contrast to some of college footballs perennial superpowers such as Alabama, Texas or Michigan, who seem to stick to traditional uniform sets from one game to the next, Missouri has been changing things up at every opportunity this fall.

Some of the combinations, like Missouris black-and-gold or all-black ensembles, have more or less stayed traditional. Others, like the all-gold look for the Georgia game or any of the all-white uniforms, have taken a step outside the box. What’s the week-to-week method to that selection-process madness? Hard to know. The football program did not make its equipment staff available for this story, despite several requests.

An athletic department spokesperson, though, explained that the motivation behind the rotating uniforms is, among other factors, to enhance recruiting and the brand (of the program) to a large degree. Rolled out via social media to much fanfare at 10 a.m. on the dot each Friday morning, fan reaction to the uniforms has been mixed.

That’s how branding experts think. But what do the fashion experts think? The Missourian wanted to know. So we asked.

Tom Scott is an associate professor at New York Citys internationally-acclaimed Fashion Institute of Technology. In over 20 years in the world of fashion, Scott has worked for and consulted with a number of companies, including Ralph Lauren, where he designed his own womens wear collection. He now teaches Fashion Design at FIT, and continues to produce his own line of clothing out of his studio in Brooklyn, New York.

Tom Scott critiques Missouri football uniforms Tom Scott is a an associate professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Scott is a designer who specializes in sportswear, menswear, womenswear, knitwear and accessories.

With 11 games in the books, and thus 11 uniform combinations out there, the Missourian spoke with Scott to get an aficionado’s perspective on what worked and didnt work, what matched and what clashed, and to find out what Missouri could, or should, have done differently with each of its highly publicized 2018 uniforms.

09/01/2018 UT-Martin

Missouri opened the 2018 season with a traditional look, going with a black jersey, gold pants and a black helmet featuring the standard oval tiger head logo.

Uniforms for UT-Martin game Missouri vs. UT-Martin

Tom Scott’s take: I think the black and gold, two-tone look is strong. It has nice variation. Its kind of like a bumble-bee combination. I think this one feels very classic. The tiger print is nice, but I imagined they would be more flashy. Its definitely well-coordinated, though.”

09/08/2019 Wyoming

The all-back uniform was a favorite of the Tigers this fall. They first broke it out in Week 2 in a 40-13 win over Wyoming.

Uniform for Wyoming game Missouri vs. Wyoming

Tom Scott’s take: I really like the all-black. It gives off a very menacing and scary feel. I always like the matchy-matchy combination. The all-black makes the bold, gold lettering really pop. These feel very modern. I notice the little bands and sleeves they wear. Those are all really cool. But I think if those had some more color, they would bring something more to the uniform.

09/15/2018 Purdue

Week 3 delivered the first 2018 appearance of the Stormtrooper uniforms, as Missouri opted for the white helmet featuring the oval tiger head logo on top of an all-white jersey/pants combination.

Uniform for Purdue game Missouri vs. Purdue

Tom Scott’s take: I like the all-white uniform, but it does feel a bit ordinary. I dont mind that its all tonal (single tone), but I think the darker colors make more of an impact. The trim around the numbers kind of falls in a bit. It doesnt feel so ‘present.’ It could have been a bit brighter or bigger. Little things like a more pronounced trim or colorful armbands would have accented the overall uniform. That would have made things really pop.

09/22/2018 Georgia

Missouris brightest look came in its SEC opener against Georgia in Week 4 with all-gold uniforms featuring an alternate logo on the helmet.

Uniforms for Georgia game Missouri vs. Georgia

Tom Scott’s take: The yellow outfits are cool. Again, I like the single-tone look. I like that the yellow kind of matches everything out there, like the field goal posts and paint on the field. This helmet is much more bold; some of the other ones they wear are very traditional. These ones with the big logo are a bit bolder and cooler. If youre going to make a statement, make a statement. Go for it. Its nice that this one is not so traditional.

10/06/2018 South Carolina

The Tigers had their white helmets on again for the monsoon at South Carolina, employing the alternate helmet logo for a second straight week to go with a black and white ensemble.

Uniforms for South Carolina game Missouri vs. South Carolina

Tom Scott’s take: This again is a bit more of a traditional combination. I really like this helmet design again its such a bolder look and the black pants here add some life to the uniform that wasnt there against Purdue. Its funny. If you look at the pants just on their own, they dont look like theyd be football clothes. They look almost like women’s workout pants with the animal print on the side. But I think they really work with this uniform; its more playful than some of the other ones.

10/13/2018 Alabama

Some fans loved these uniforms, others thought they were watching the LSU Tigers rather the ones from Missouri in Week 7. Our take: Easily the most daring of the Tigers uniforms in 2018, the white jersey sandwiched in between gold pants and a gold helmet might best be characterized as a look.

Uniform for the Alabama game Missouri vs. Alabama

Tom Scott’s take: This one is sort of throwing a lot at you, but none of it is interesting. I like that the helmet is something different and its very vibrant. But the yellow on top and on bottom makes everything look a bit framed with the white in the middle. If you walked out the door in an outfit like this, Id probably question your fashion choice. I think it would have looked cooler if theyd worn white helmets. If theyd done that, the yellow pants would have made more of a statement.

10/20/2018 Memphis

The Block M made its first appearance of 2018, paired with an all-black combination on Homecoming Saturday in a 65-33 win over Memphis.

Uniform for Memphis game Missouri vs. Memphis

Tom Scott’s take: The design on the helmet looks like something youd find on an old t-shirt, and the rest of the uniform is very modern. Its like antique and modern mixed together. It doesnt work. It would have made sense to somehow make the uniforms look more subdued, so the real focus was the helmet. That would make you pay more attention to the helmet. This has a lot of combinations going on.

10/27/2018 Kentucky

Wearing all-black again against Kentucky, the Tigers spiced up their uniforms in Week 9 with an animal-print stripe over the top of the black helmet.

Uniform for Kentucky game Missouri vs. Kentucky

Tom Scott’s take: I love the all-black combination again. The players just look cool. I look at them and what they have on, and think they look cool. With all the matching arm bands and accessories, they all look super fab. The animal-print stripes adds another dimension, which I like. Having it there with the oval logo kind of has a lot going on all at once. In the fashion world, we would call something like that, taking it a bit too far. But overall, I like the stripe; it adds to that sort of intimidating look of the whole uniform.

11/03/2018 Florida

The Tigers shook off a rough loss to Kentucky a week later at Florida while wearing an all-white ensemble featuring a gold logo emblazoned on the helmet.

Uniform for Florida game Missouri vs. Florida

Tom Scott’s take: I didnt like the first few white uniforms, but this one looks cool. Its all one tone, and then you have that accent on the helmet. It makes more of an impact that way. That yellow up top changes everything. Itd help if the piping on the sleeve was just a little bit bigger and more pronounced. It kind of gets lost there. I love all this cat-print on the uniforms.

11/10/2018 Vanderbilt

Missouris tribute for Veterans Day in Week 11 included names of fallen soldiers on the backs of jerseys, and the helmets featured a depiction of the service medal awarded to the families of Missourians who lost their lives in World War I all to go with an all-black uniform.

Uniform for Vanderbilt game Missouri vs. Vanderbilt

Tom Scott’s take: They did a much better job incorporating a new logo this time. Its not as over the top. Its much more subtle. It has a presence without being overpowering. I dont see it clashing or anything. I think they need to keep working with graphic looks like these and keep pushing that. Theres so much going on out there on the field youve got another team and their uniforms, the referees, the paint on the field so if they come out with graphic uniforms, theyll stand out a whole lot more. Thats how you make an impact.

11/17/2018 Tennessee

Returning to the all-white look for the final road game of the season, the Tigers added a retro component with the addition of the Block M on the white helmet.

Uniform for Tennessee game Missouri vs. Tennessee

Tom Scott’s take: Without a ton of color, this one seems a little plain, like some of other white uniforms. I like this Block M on the helmet a lot more than the antiquey one they used against Memphis. I see the animal print again on the sleeve. If they had it somewhere else, too, there would be a little bit more going on. It would look super cool if there was something bright and graphic on the white uniform. This one left me wanting more.

11/23/2018 Arkansas

Stay tuned!