Exhibition guide for phase one: Plurality of Polyester 3 July to 4 September Cabinet 1 Shirt on left: 1976-78 home shirt, number 7, worn by Gordon Nisbet. Stripes returned in 1975 after twelve years of solid amber shirts, but the most striking element of the new kit was the white shorts that created a throwback look, referencing Tigers kits used between World Wars. Shirt advertising was still a few years away, but sportswear firms were pushing boundaries in the 1970s: Europa of Leicestershire became the first supplier to put their logo on a City kit. First used in 1975/76, this shirt design is commonly associated with signed Billy Bremner signing from Leeds United. There were several versions, the first of which had Europa's logo without a wordmark, that was added for 1976/77. For 1978/79, City replaced the monogram with a tiger head crest, at the same time dropping white shorts in favour of the black set previously used with the away kit. Shirt on right: 1992/93 home shirt, number 5, worn by Rob Dewhurst The best designed Hull City kit ever? Not a chance, but certainly the most iconic. Third tier teams rarely get national media coverage, but the 1992/93 home shirt, with it's all over tiger stripe print, ensured its everlasting notoriety. Wild designs were not unusual in the early 1990s, as kit suppliers showed off technological advances in printing, but they tended to be on away kits. Not so with City as Matchwinner took inspiration from the club's nickname. Manager Terry Dolan remarked “the players look like tigers, now they’ve got to play like tigers”. They did on opening day, besting Stoke 1-0, but the form was not maintained and City ended the season 20th. The Nineties were a decade of sustained decline and misery for Tigers fans, and this shirt was a rare bright spot so is fondly remembered. In between the shirts: The odd couple. A 'pair' of White Puma v1.06 boots worn in the Championship Play-off final at Wembley in 2008. Both left feet, the boot on the left belonged to Bryan Hughes, whereas the shoe on the right was worn by Dean Windass, who scored the game's only goal as City beat Bristol City 1-0. It was enough to promote the Tigers to the Premier League for the first time. The Hughes boot still has ticker tape attached to the sole. Shirt on left of bottom shelf: 1993-95 home shirt issued for substitutes Some people think the tiger striped 1992/93 home is the worst football shirt of all time, but it's not even the worst Hull City shirt. That dubious distinction falls upon the follow up, worn for part of 1993/94 and all of 1994/95. After falling out with Matchwinner, City tasked Pelada to design a non-copyright violating approximation of the tiger skin shirts, which were used at the start of 1993/94 with Pelada patches covering the maker’s logo. The new shirts were ready by November, and featured a much tighter tiger stripe pattern. Up close it was amber and black, but from distance the pattern merged into a rusty hue. There was more change for 1994/95: A new sponsor meant more patches. The logo of new backer Needler’s Sweets was placed on huge felt panels. Shirt on right of bottom shelf: 2004/05 home shirt prototype Despite bearing the branding of Italian sportswear firm Diadora, this shirt was designed and made locally by Dewhirst of Driffield, who have a factory in Hull. A prototype supplied to the club as part of the design process, this sample shirt has several differences to the final 2004/05 home shirt: The shade of amber was darkened slightly, the club crest would be embroidered instead of sewn on and amended slightly to note the club's centenary in the scroll banner. The unusual oblique arm stripes were straightened on the final version. In between bottom shelf shirts: Number plaques that were above shirt pegs in the Boothferry Park dressing room. Cabinet 2 Shirt on left: 2014/15 European home shirt worn by Ahmed Elmohamady in the Europa League Play-off round 2nd leg game against Lokeren The bitterness of defeat in the 2014 FA Cup final had a sweet aftertaste at least, as City would appear in European competition for the first time. UEFA regulations on shirt number legibility are stricter than those of the Premier League: "Around the figures, there must be a zone free from any item and comprising a single-colour background". Umbro's 2014/15 home shirt had stripes front and back, so a variant set was needed for Europa League play-off round games. They had plain amber back panels, to which names and numbers were applied in a bespoke typeface The shirts were worn with amber shorts against Lokeren at the KCOM Stadium (after the Belgian side won the first leg 1-0). The Tigers won 2-1, but were eliminated on the away goals rule. Shirt on right: 2015/16 home shirt issued to captain Michael Dawson for the 2016 Championship Play-off final at Wembley. The Tigers were adjusting to life back in the Championship in the summer of 2015, after a bitterly disappointing season that began with European competition but ended with relegation. Manager Steve Bruce sought to make amends with a Premier League return at the first attempt. Just as they did for 2009/10, Umbro followed up a striped home shirt with one with black pinstripes on amber for 2015/16. City needed new main sponsors after 12Bet activated a termination clause and theme park Flamingo Land filled the void. Fittingly the season was a roller-coaster ride: City led the league for parts of 2015/16 but ultimately finished fourth, qualifying for the Play-offs. After squeaking past Derby, City met Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley, where Mohamed Diamé's 72nd minute goal proved decisive as the Tigers again won a Play-off final 1-0. In between the shirts: Mitre matchball for the 2015/16 Championship play-off final contested by Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley Shirt on left of bottom shelf: 2007/08 home shirt featuring game detail applied to shirts for the 2008 Championship Play- off final at Wembley. Umbro, the Cheshire based brand and long time supplier to the England national side, became Hull City's 'technical partner' in 2007 and would outfit the Tigers for a period of unprecedented success. The 2007/08 Hull City home shirt used the same basic template as the primary England shirt of the time, and featured a round collar flanked by interconnected black diamonds with asymmetrical tapered stripes underneath. A repeated abstract diamonds pattern that loosely looked like tiger stripes embellished ventilation panels under the raglan sleeves. This shirt design was last used in City's first ever Wembley appearance. Cheered on by 40,000 Tiger Nationals who made the East side of Wembley a sea of amber, City beat Bristol City 1-0 to gain promotion into the Premier League. Shirt on right of bottom shelf: 2013/14 home shirt featuring game detail applied to shirts for the 2014 FA Cup final at Wembley. City followed up their first automatic promotion to the Premier League with the best season in club history to date in 2013/14, not only retaining top flight status but also reaching the FA Cup final. For this finest of years adidas went back to striped shirts, but the new kit's most striking feature was rather fetching hooped socks. The Tigers bettered their highest ever Premier League finish (17th in 2008/09) by one place in a campaign that saw City beat Liverpool 3-1 in the same month they thrashed Fulham 6-0. City excelled in the FA Cup too, improving on their previous best of reaching the semi-finals in 1930. This time they made it to the final, and gave eventual winners Arsenal a scare, taking a 2-0 lead over the Gunners but succumbing in extra time. Table 1 (Preserved in amber) Shirt on left: 1995-97 home shirt, number 2, worn by Adam Lowthorpe Nostalgia was the driving force behind much of the kit design ethic of the mid 1990s: Three Lions, the Euro ’96 anthem and a requiem for past glory, captured the zeitgeist and retro inspired shirts became popular. City could be considered trendsetters, releasing a home kit in the summer of 1995 that harked back to the days of Raich Carter, though given his passing in October 1994, the inspiration was more tribute than trend awareness. The new kit, made by Super League, was superficially similar to the heavy cotton drill garb worn by City in the late 1940s. As in the Forties, a tiger head crest sat inside a sewn-on shield. A contemporary feature was the shadow pattern that ran throughout the shirt, of repeated tiger heads over twin pinstripes. Centre shirt: 2002/03 home shirt worn by loan signing Phil Jevons in the last competitive game at Boothferry Park and in the KCOM Stadium's ceremonial opening match in December 2002. The last time the Tigers used a home kit for more than one season, it became associated with a momentous event in each full season of use; a move to a new home, and a long awaited promotion. Jan Molby was boss when 2002/03 kicked off but Peter Taylor was in charge when City bade farewell to Boothferry Park with a 1-0 loss to Darlington, and when the Tigers inaugurated the KCOM Stadium with a 1-0 win over Sunderland.