Luton Town F.C. - Club Identity

Club Identity

The club's nickname, the Hatters, reflects Luton's historical connection with the hat making trade, which has been prominent there since the 1600s. The nickname was originally a variant on the now rarely seen Straw-plaiters. Supporters of the club are also called Hatters.

The club is strongly associated with two very different colour schemes. For most of its history, Luton players have worn white shirts, black shorts, and either white or black socks, permanently adopted in 1920. Before then they had mainly worn a combination of light blue and white. In 1973, Luton changed to orange and navy, a completely new colour scheme, to make Luton Town more recognisable. However, six years later Luton returned to playing in white, although the orange and navy motif remained as trim; navy shorts were adopted in 1984. Luton kept those colours until 1999–2000, when they spent a season in orange and blue, and for 2000–01 white and black returned, albeit with orange still present. A simple white and black outfit finally returned in the 2007–08 season, but in the summer of 2008 a poll of fans was taken, and the decision was taken to return to the white, navy and orange palette favoured during the club's most successful years. The club changed colours yet again in 2009, introducing a scheme of orange shirts, white shorts and white socks with orange trim; navy shorts were readopted in 2011.

Originally, Luton Town used the town's crest as its own in a manner similar to many other teams of the time; all but one of the badges in Luton Town's history have included the town crest. The club did not adopt its own crest until 1973, concurrently with its switch to the orange kit, when a new badge was adopted featuring the club's new colours. The new emblem depicted a stylised orange football, bearing the letters "Lt", surrounded by the club's name in navy blue text. The change was significant, as it was the first time the club had attempted to establish its own independent identity – previously, the identity of the town had doubled as that of the club. In 1987 the club switched back to a derivative of the town emblem, with the shield portion of the heraldic crest becoming the team's badge; the only similarity with the previous design was the inclusion of the club name around the shield in navy blue. The "rainbow" badge, introduced in 1994, featured the town crest below an orange and blue bow which curved around to meet two footballs, positioned on either side of the shield. The design was completed by a continuation of the orange and blue lines below the shield, with the club name across them in white. This badge was used until 2005, when a replacement very similar to the 1987 version was adopted, featuring black text rather than blue and a straw boater in place of the outstretched arm depicted in the older design. The club's founding year, 1885, was added in 2008 to complete the design. The badge was altered once more during the 2009–10 pre-season.

The first sponsor to appear on a Luton Town shirt was Tricentrol, a local motor company based in Dunstable, who sponsored the club from March 1980 to 1982; the deal was worth £50,000, a sum equal to £160,000 in 2009. Subsequent sponsors have been Bedford Trucks (1982 to 1990), Vauxhall (1990 to 1991), Universal Salvage Auctions (1991 to 1999), SKF (1999 to 2003), Travel Extras (2003 to 2005), Electrolux (2005 to 2008) and Carbrini Sportswear (2008 to 2009). NICEIC and EasyJet agreed sponsorship deals before the 2009–10 season, for one and two years respectively; EasyJet renewed their sponsorship before the 2011–12 season.