Greetings, kit lovers!
A few weeks ago, I took the kids to a music festival in Oxfordshire. Surprisingly, about one in three festival-goers were sporting retro football kits. From Real Madrid’s ‘Galacticos’ to Cork City’s ‘German-Guinness’ gem. The football/fashion crossover really is at its zenith, and I, for one, am here for it.
Recently, I made a transfer of my own after 15 years in the sports industry; I’m moving into the music biz. But having done these compilation lists for the past few years, I couldn’t resist enforcing another one on you.
This article was filed, Sean was about to hit publish. Safe in the knowledge that Spurs had finally clinched some form of league title. But no. A last minute winner from the Northeast. On Tuesday morning, the clever folk at St James Park released a cracking launch video featuring the likes of Rob Lee, Shay Given and David Ginola. This really is a beautiful reinvention of Newcastle’s cult-classic mid-90s away kit. Yes, it looks like a rugby kit. Yes, its colours are unexpected. No, it doesn’t have Newcastle Brown Ale as the sponsor but my word it’s otherwise perfect. Adidas have nailed their reunion with the Toon.
Tottenham openly admits that this is inspired by their 1980s away kits, and the Nike marketing around the release has some lovely touches, featuring massive hi-fis, cassette tapes, and teletext. As for the shirt itself, it builds on some lovely light blue kits from years gone by. The yellow and navy trim runs through both home and away apparel, and the simplified Tottenham crest looks spot on next to the Nike tick.
There is a sea of yellow away kits this season, and most of them miss the mark (Southampton and Palace, to name two). But this effort in ‘University Gold’ (whatever that means) is a stone-cold stunner.
Weirdly, the club used images of players modeling the kit with chinos on their website, which made me think of watching repeats of the 1980s sitcom Hi-de-Hi as a kid. Nonetheless, Nike and the Seagulls go together like salt and vinegar on the seafront.
Putting together a homage to a classic shirt is a tricky business. It needs to look like the original but not be too close that it looks outdated—see Liverpool’s home offering this year. But Ipswich has found the perfect balance for their return to the Premier League. The continued sponsorship with Ed Sheeran is a point of difference in a quagmire of bookmakers, and as long as I don’t have to listen to his music, then Ipswich can keep banging out the hits.
Palace is always on this list (despite my love for rivals Charlton Athletic), and I thought long about whether this kit was a gem or grotesque. I had the same dilemma with Chelsea. In the end, I came down on the former. Celebrating 100 years at Selhurst Park (everyone’s favourite ground that shares a car park with Sainsbury’s), it sports an ‘eagle’ pattern throughout. It’s exactly the kind of garish design that will make for a classic remake in 25 years' time.
Every year on this list, since switching back to Adidas, they’ve served up classic after classic. So even if they’ve misfired on the pitch, they’ve been the best dressed off it. Yet again, they’ve hit the target this season. The inclusion of navy as a trim nods back to two eras of success: the early nineties under George Graham and the early noughties under Arsene Wenger. With Mikel Arteta at the helm, they're aiming to fire their way to glory this season, looking as sharp as their tactics.
This one has proved controversial, with many quick to point out its similarity to a can of Lynx Africa. So much so that the Unilever brand released a mock collaboration video on social media (I do occasionally write some marketing content in these blogs!). Inspired by the large contingent of African supporters in the Arsenal fan base, the color scheme pays tribute to the continent herself. It builds on previous seasons' attempts to have fans' traditions at the heart of the story (admittedly, so they can flog them kits for £80 a pop). It’d be higher up the list if it weren’t for the clumsy-looking white trim.
While Arsenal’s marketing team crafts compelling narratives around their kits, making each release feel like a new chapter, West Ham faces a perennial challenge. How do you keep reinventing the wheel—or in this case, the claret and blue? It’s a yearly conundrum for the Hammers, yet they manage to find a new twist on their classic colors each season. Paying tribute to Hurst, Peters, and Moore, it’s a fitting nod to the team that won the Cup Winners Cup 60 years ago. The hoops around the collar and sleeve look every bit as stylish now as they did in the swinging sixties.
Another tip of the cap to Brentford for not releasing a new shirt this season. For the past few years, they have released new outfits every other August as part of a sustainability and fan engagement commitment. Fair play. With its red to black gradient on the stripes, it’s also a decent effort which didn’t trouble last year’s top 10, much like the Bees themselves.
I’m not going to lie, I was unaware of BJ88 until this deal (there’s one for the brand awareness score). But it does look like the naughty kid at school has put their first email address on the front. There are some nasty reports doing the rounds that the company promotes gambling on cock-fighting in Asia, which raises the moral question of football and betting in a different context. Putting all of that to one side, the kit is a gem and has landed well with the fanbase, so much so that there is an unsponsored version in the club shop. Also, an honourable mention for the away kit of white purple and blue, which has a touch of the Arsenal ‘bruised banana’ kit about it.
Ged Colleypriest a seasoned sponsorship professional, founder of Underdog Sports Marketing and self-confessed kit nause.
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