Recovered from the factory floor. Charged with legacy.
New Daggers 2025/26 Away Shirt
The pitch at Victoria Road sits on industrial myth. Before football took root here, the Stirling Works factory stood beside the stadium — powering the borough literally and culturally. Workers from the factory were fans, players, and groundsmen. The place had an electricity. A hum in the soil.
The new 2025/26 Away Kit, created in collaboration with Acid FC and designed by creative director Ed Cowburn, asks a single question: What would a kit look like if it carried that power?
The Bolt Strip
Recovered, not designed. A shirt pulled from the factory floor through the fog. Black — the colour of the ebonite once used in the telephones made here.
Lightning bolts — inspired by the Stirling Works logo, rendered in tonal Daggers colours. It feels like armour: built for grit, charged with legacy. The goalkeeper strip is a live wire in neon green/yellow — the colour of caution and control in working yards across East London.This Isn’t Just a Kit. It’s a Story.
Every stitch carries the smoke and industry of East London. The lightning is both literal and metaphorical — a symbol of:
- Power through community
- Danger, grit, and resilience
- The pulse of local football
The Campaign
The shoot bridges generations: former Dagger Mark Janney — eight seasons, countless memories — alongside summer signing Ashley Hemmings, back for his second spell. Both represent the club’s past and future.
Shot by photographer Joshua Tarn in the Stirling Industrial Estate and along the riverside at Dagenham Dock, the campaign uses a streetwear aesthetic rooted in the borough’s industrial epicentre. University of the Arts London students joined as models and make-up artists, continuing the collaborative approach from the home kit launch.
Once again in Umbro and powered by Kitlocker.com, the away kit is the Club’s second release through this new partnership, with the intention to push beyond what is expected from the Club.
Designer Ed Cowburn:
“One of the things I love about this project is that it’s a chance to uncover a piece of local history that even some lifelong Daggers fans might not know. The Stirling Works factory is part of the ground the club stands on — literally and culturally — but unless you’ve been told about it, it’s easy for those stories to fade. This kit is a way of bringing that history back into the conversation, of making it visible every time the team steps on the pitch.“
“For Acid FC, the size of the club isn’t the deciding factor — it’s the strength of the story. Whether it’s a non-league side like Dagenham or a club at the very top of the game, the process is the same: find the thread that connects team, place, and people, and weave it into something that feels authentic. We want every shirt to be more than a design — it should feel like it belongs to that community.”
“The exciting part is when that local story starts to travel. A fan in another part of the country, or even on the other side of the world, might have never set foot in Dagenham, but they’ll still connect with the sense of pride, grit, and identity in the design. That’s where football kits can live beyond the game — in culture, in fashion, in everyday life.”
“For me, the goal with the Daggers kit was to make something that felt like it could only exist here, but that everyone could appreciate. That’s the sweet spot — when you can respect the heritage, excite the fans, and still make a statement that turns heads far beyond the stadium.”
The 2025/26 Away Kit is available now from the club shop and online at https://daggersshop.square.site