Inside Legacy Studio: Bringing Back the Original Guildford Flames Crest

Before a club settles on the badge everyone recognises today, there's usually an earlier one. This jacket goes back to find it.

Where it started

Every long-running club has a crest history, and Guildford Flames is no different. The current flame-and-G mark is the one fans see every match night now, but it isn't the one the club started with. We wanted to build a jacket around the original Flames crest, the script wordmark and crossed sticks that would have meant just as much to supporters a generation ago, and give it a home on a piece built to last just as long.

The build

We warmed up the palette for this one. Tan leather sleeves instead of black, paired with navy wool body and a red and white ribbed collar, cuffs, and hem, a colourway that leans more vintage varsity than modern matchday. It's the kind of combination you'd expect from an original American college jacket, which felt right for a crest with real history behind it.

The crest itself sits large on the back and repeats smaller on the chest: a maroon and gold flame rising behind crossed hockey sticks, with "GUILDFORD" banked above a bold script "Flames" running through the centre. It's a busier, more illustrative mark than the current logo, built entirely from embroidery, layered thread work picking out every flame lick and every serif in the script.

Why it matters

Bringing an old crest back onto a new jacket isn't really about nostalgia for its own sake. It's about reminding fans who've followed the club for years that its identity didn't start with the current badge, and giving newer supporters a way to connect with the history behind it. This one was designed as a piece of the archive as much as a piece of clothing.

Legacy Studio is where Legacy Sportswear designs and produces custom kit for our club partners, from concept sketch to finished stitch.