Canterbury × Mamukko — Giant Jersey Case Study

Mamukko X Canterbury | Circular Design In Action

How a giant fan-signed Ireland jersey became 175 handcrafted products while keeping the messages, memories and meaning of the original campaign visible.

Case Study: Canterbury Giant Jersey – Circular Design by Mamukko

Client: Canterbury of New Zealand

Partners: IRFU and Intersport Elverys

Project: Upcycling the fan-signed Ireland Women’s Rugby World Cup giant jersey

Outcome: 175 handcrafted products across four designs

Testimonial: Samantha Anderson, UK & Ireland Marketing Manager

Overview

Following the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Canterbury had an extraordinary campaign asset: a giant Ireland jersey covered with handwritten messages of support from fans across the country. Rather than allow the jersey to disappear into storage or reach the end of its useful life, Canterbury approached Mamukko to explore what it could become.

Challenge

The value of the jersey was not only in the fabric. It was in the signatures, artwork and emotional connection between supporters and the Ireland Women’s team. The challenge was to turn a finite and unconventional material into useful products while preserving as much of that visible story as possible.

Solution

Mamukko studied the jersey at full scale before any cutting began. Individual components were positioned around supporter messages and recognisable graphics instead of using a conventional production layout. The material led the design, and every cut was considered.

Using our experience with reclaimed sails, liferafts, aviation textiles and other difficult materials, we developed four functional products and handcrafted the collection in Kinsale. The fan-signed jersey formed the main panels, emergency life-vest production offcuts were used for the lining, and upcycled aircraft seat leather completed selected finishing details.

The Collection

One giant jersey became four practical designs. Because each section carried different signatures and graphics, every finished piece was individually connected to the original campaign.

Outcome

Mamukko produced 175 functional, professionally finished pieces, all handcrafted in Kinsale. The project kept an important campaign material in circulation, preserved the supporter messages within the finished products and created a collection that supports the Give It a Try programme and the next generation of rugby players.

Testimonial

“What we particularly appreciated about working with Mamukko was that they thought beyond simply manufacturing the products. Throughout the process they looked at the bigger picture and came to us with ideas about how we could build on the original proposal and make more of the story behind it. They brought ideas to the table, understood the wider opportunity and clearly cared about what the project represented.”

— Samantha Anderson, UK & Ireland Marketing Manager, Canterbury of NZ

Conclusion

The Canterbury Giant Jersey project demonstrates Mamukko’s approach to circular design: understanding what is already valuable in a material, solving the practical challenges around it and creating useful products without losing the original story.

Interested in collaborating with Mamukko?

If your company has a campaign asset, technical textile or significant material whose story should continue, contact us to discuss what it could become.

Contact Attila Magyar, Managing Director via phone at 085 734 2004 or email at attila@mamukko.ie
Thank you.