Giorgio Armani today unveiled his new designs for the England Football team's official 'off-field' outfits, both formal and casual, coinciding with the squad's departure for the European Football Championship in Portugal. Giorgio Armani was selected by the England Football Association to be the team's 'off-field' clothing designer in 2003. At the time, Armani promised to give a fresh perspective to the idea of a team "uniform". Today he says: "These young and talented players are more relaxed and fluid in the way they approach the game, and the coach, Sven Goran Eriksson, encourages them to show their own flair. As they head for Portugal this summer, I wanted to create looks that resonate with the youthful, spirited modernity of this squad."

For this reason, with input from David Beckham, Sven Goran Eriksson and other senior squad members, Giorgio Armani has designed a versatile wardrobe of both formal and casual outfits, accessorised with sunglasses, watches, belts, shoes and luggage.

The big surprise is the colour of the formal suit, which is no longer in traditional navy blue, but instead comes in a dark grey light wool crepe. The suit's two button slim-fit jacket has been specially lined in camel gold satin. The look is completed with dark brown leather lace-up shoes and bright white shirts and grey ties. For the team's casual outfit, Armani has opted for a dark navy pinstripe soft double-breasted jacket that fits like a cardigan. This is Armani's take on the traditional blazer, and it is teamed with fluid trousers in a contrasting, more technical cloth, and T-shirts rather than shirts.

The new collection is a perfect expression of Armani's twin passions: modern menswear and football. He is famous for revolutionising the way men dressed, when he introduced a softer, deconstructed approach in the Eighties. He is also the designer who pioneered the idea of footballers as fashion icons: In 1995, he broke with convention by introducing David James, then Liverpool goalkeeper, onto his catwalk. James went on to feature in Giorgio Armani's Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani Underwear advertising campaigns.

"Footballers are today's new style leaders," says Giorgio Armani, "but unlike the movie stars and pop stars who they now join as fashion icons, they have to show an acute combination of mental and physical discipline which makes them genuinely heroic."

Armani has dressed many players including Real Madrid's Ronaldo and Luis Figo, Inter Milan's Christian Vieri and Fabio Cannavaro, and AC Milan's Andreij Shevchenko (with whom Armani has opened a store in the player's home town of Kiev in the Ukraine) and, the team's new Brazilian youth prodigy, Kaka. He has designed outfits for Chelsea and Newcastle United. Giorgio Armani has also just published a book called 'Faces of Sport', featuring many of these footballer friends to raise money and awareness for the international Special Olympics movement.