Aaquib Wani is perhaps one of the most important members of the Indian sports community nobody has heard of. He has not played any competitive sport. Yet, in a sense, all of us will have seen Wani's works. Some of us may even have lots of it inside our cupboards. Thousands may even use it on a daily basis; on a school run or while grabbing an evening coffee.
In 2023, 24 and 25, he was tasked with one of the most important jobs in Indian cricket. Designing the jersey for World Cups. In 2024, he also designed India's Olympic jersey.
****
Wani, who appeared in Forbes' 30 Under 30 for design a few years ago, speaks about colour palettes, patterns, geometric shapes and outlines, with ease. But his world into Indian cricket — his entry into the world of artwork itself — was 'out of necessity'.
The son of a Kashmiri businessman, he was forever surrounded by craftspeople, people who would continue to chisel away in the hope of creating a masterpiece. While he stayed away from it for a while — he went through different phases including that of a guitarist — before a Nigerian jersey during the 2018 FIFA World Cup caught his attention.
Pretty soon, one thing led to another. One of their clients was applying for a tender to design jerseys of athletes competing in Khelo India and he wanted in 'even though we (his studio) had never done this before'. "We didn't know what the technical (aspects) are because we had never done this," he tells this daily. "It's supposed to be more functional than obviously putting a print on it because athletes have to be comfortable wearing it."
While they didn't get the contract, Wani was sold on the idea of there existing a gap in the system. Of using the jersey — one of the biggest identities for a sporting team — to create a narrative. "India's cultural history is so vast, so great... I was like it will be great if we could give that focus and build a story around that. Because, again, what I had essentially seen... most of the jerseys would usually be just like playing with random geometric patterns and you only have a Tri-colour being thrown on it but at the same time I would say there was always a gap. Something I felt will be addressed if we can essentially have a narrative or probably talk about something using that because again that becomes a really cool piece to also introduce as a story into what the athletes are wearing as well."
He didn't get to put this thought into action but he was super pumped. This idea became real when he designed the jersey of Real Kashmir, an I-League club. When the side and Wani were talking about it, Wani had put a disclaimer that 'we (his design and he) had never done anything like this' but they wanted him on board because of his Kashmiri roots. "It would be lovely to have an authentic voice behind the jersey."
It went viral.
Rajasthan Royals came calling. After Royals, Adidas, a company who had collaborated previously with his studio, called again with a new gig. The 2023 50-over World Cup in India.
That design remains the high watermark of his career so far. Wani, who attended the India - Pakistan game in person, was touched when he realised that 1000s of fans inside the Stadium were wearing his designs. "It's something I will take to my grave." He was also happy because 'what was submitted was what got produced eventually."
****
A jersey can mean a lot of things to a lot of fans. But, first and foremost, it's an identity. Representation. Language. A side's fanbase doesn't just see it as a colour but they dissect it, go deep. It's why Wani likes to spend a lot of time designing jerseys. He sees it as a blank canvas to tell a story. "It has to be something that comes to us as a brief and then we work on that brief," he says. "It's not like, okay, one day I wake up and put this on the national team. That's where we come in as a design studio to make sure it's not a literal representation of the brief but also where it becomes artistic. Abstract but also make it sporty."
But the IPL jersey, as it stands, isn't artistic enough for a few reasons. Here's Wani. "The design happens first and then the sponsor logos come in. I understand it because the sponsors get locked in much later in the entire sequence. Since we don't have control over half the things, what happens is eventually what goes out is not something that we feel is the best way to sort of represent a design."
The scope for building a narrative, then, has to take a backseat but 'it's about business as well'. "You win some, you lose some."
Here, Wani, who counts the Ambanis among his clientele, got intimate with reference to how his studio went about designing the Royals jersey in 2023. "They wanted something culturally rooted in Rajasthan so we decided to create a geometric pattern using stepwells (architecture used for farming and rain water harvesting), something very famous in Rajasthan." They also played around the jharokha, specific windows famous in the palaces across the state.
The studio was happy with what they ended up with but 'you win some, you lose some'. He hopes 'we could sort of standardise colours onto a jersey to say, 'okay, let's not have every logo with their own set of colours. Like what does an F1 team do? They have so many logos yet it's standardised in a way it has one colour no matter what your brand guidelines say.
"I also feel like the production and manufacturing of it is also something I feel could become better. I always felt that the quality of these jerseys... there was no difference between what these players were wearing and what a knockoff would look like". He hopes there's one centralised team to look into the design aspect so that everything is standardised.
At this point in time, though, he compares the average jersey to that of 'a billboard'. "For me to be able to support my team, I don't want to wear so many logos. But sponsors are not the problem by themselves. I explained about F1 cars. I feel they are still beautiful because the branding is integrated into the design, not just placed on top of it.
"In the IPL, sponsor placement usually happens after the design, sometimes even after production. So, instead of designing with sponsors with mind, the jersey becomes a patchwork of logos that are added later. In so many leagues, there is a central design system and even guidelines for that."
****
But every jersey of his tells a story. Right from Real Kashmir in the early days to the Indian women's team's jersey at the 2025 World Cup, every geometric pattern serves a purpose. There's a reason behind the final design.
"They all tell a story."