12 Pentagons Gives the Classic Soccer Ball a Makeover

Jon-Paul Wheatley is the Messi of soccer balls. Not of kicking them but crafting them. Without even touching the pitch, the British soccer ball designer has become a titan in his league.

Along with his wife, Allison Diaz Wheatley, Wheatley co-founded 12 Pentagons, an experimental soccer ball design studio. What began as a creative challenge during the pandemic inflated, leading to international recognition, a devoted following, and major partnerships with brands such as Burberry, Pepsi, and FIFA. Unlike its name—which was inspired by the 12 pentagons on a classic soccer ball—the brand rearranges the structure and style of the sport’s traditional ball, offering a limited batch to the public each drop. One ball is assembled from fish-shaped pearlescent panels, while another pieces together 180 panels, but no two designs are the same. And once they’re gone, they’re gone.

While World Cup fever is in full effect across North America, 12 Pentagons is collaborating on an exhibition with The Hoxton hotels. Scattered across the United States, the unique footballs are displayed in each lobby of The Hoxton’s U.S. hotels, including seven in Chicago, six in New York, five in Los Angeles, and five in Portland. Inspired by the controversy of the first World Cup final, when Uruguay and Argentina disagreed on which model ball to use, the First World Cup ball is the impractical solution, displayed in New York. In Portland, the Trionda Legacy ball takes a piece of the five most recent World Cup balls to form one glistening gold ball, in collaboration with Adidas.

 

12 Pentagons, Modelo Ball

 

12 Pentagons, 180 Wavy Triangle Ball

 

12 Pentagons, Roly Poly Ball

 

12 Pentagons, Sausage Ball

While a football is typically only acclaimed for where it’s been or who it’s touched—often, a World Cup winning goal—it’s rarely earned importance for its design: 12 Pentagons changes that.

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