Chris Wright Oct 12, 2023, 12:14 ETLLreading: 6 min.
A look at the teams around the world that have managed to produce some of the most stylish yet edgy kits for the 2023-24 season.
With the 2023-24 season now in full swing, football lovers have had the opportunity to see a host of new kits worn by Premier League clubs and the European giants competing in the Champions League, be it in sunlight in a match at three in the afternoon or shining under the floodlights in a midweek duel.
From Real Madrid’s beautiful ‘infinite’ away kit to the stripes on stripes of Manchester United’s second kit, major European clubs have given us many unforgettable designs, for better or worse.
However, many of this season’s most eye-catching kits have escaped the attention of the general public, particularly those worn by clubs playing in the world’s lower divisions and lesser-known leagues.
Below we take a look at the teams around the world that have managed to produce some of the most stylish yet edgy kits for the 2023-24 season.
Elegant
Venice (Kappa)
Local: Venezia has made a name for itself in recent years by producing some of the most elegant designs around. The 2023-24 home and away jerseys feature the Italian club’s traditional colors, with the home kit highlighted by its formal stripes and gold trim.
Visitors: On the away kit, Venezia’s colors are reversed, with a pristine white base adorned only by a green and orange stripe and a few bright gold trims.
Third: The third is perhaps the most notable, as it is directly inspired by the famous striped uniforms worn by the gondoliers cruising the canals of Venice. The black and white stripes end in an exquisite red pleated collar. In fact, the only thing missing is the gondoliers’ traditional straw hat.
Athens Kallithea FC (Kappa)
Local: Inspired by the Venezia model, Kappa designed a series of equally modern uniforms for Athens Kallithea, a team in the Greek second division. The home jersey features a navy blue design with an almost satin sheen, delicate stripes, a button-down collar and elbow-length sleeves.
Visitors: A lesson in minimalism, the away kit features subtle nautical stripes on a crisp white background, beautifully highlighted by shiny gold trim. As if that wasn’t enough, the club is also sponsored by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens (ΕΜΣΤ). It’s not often that a football club bears the name of a cultural institution with so much pride.
Marseille (Puma)
Third: The new third jersey from Olympique de Marseille is perfectly coordinated with the change of season and conveys a clear autumn feeling. However, the orange camouflage design is intended to reflect what the OM calls the “Peuple Volcanique”, the fans with flares that usually turn the Stade Vélodrome into a beehive of fire and flames.
ASD Boreals (Ezeta)
Local: Italian club FC Boreale traveled back in time and inspired a range of kits full of ornate designs based on historical religious artwork. On the border between floral extravagance and kitsch, Boreale knew how to walk that fine line with a local T-shirt inspired by the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, which took place in Rome in 312 AD.
Visitors: Boreale’s four new jerseys were designed in collaboration with Rome-based football design studio Ezeta, which used an ancient engraving of the battle to decorate the home and fourth jerseys, while the away and third jerseys feature the Golden Cross which was dedicated to Emperor Constantine after his victory.
Third:
Quarter:
Walthamstow FC (Admiral)
Local: English club Walthamstow FC caused a stir in football kit circles last month when they unveiled their ultra-decadent new 2023-24 kit, made in collaboration with William Morris Gallery.
Visitors: Morris was a well-known British textile designer and one of the most famous exponents of the Arts and Crafts style, popular in the mid-19th century. Ahead of the new Isthmian League Northern Division season, Walthamstow delved into the archives of the William Morris Gallery and chose this ‘Yare’ print for their t-shirts. The Yare style was originally designed by John Henry Dearle around 1892. Dearle was trained by Morris and later became a celebrated textile designer in his own right.
The craziest
FC Volendam (Robey)
Visitors: Dutch club Volendam have put all good taste and decency aside and covered their eye-catching 2023-24 away kit with eels. That’s right – eels. Neon blue eels. Nicknamed the “Palingshirt” (“eel kit”), the slippery uniform also features a small embroidered image of one of the many fishing statues at the city’s harbor.
Norwich City (Joma)
Third: For reasons unknown, Norwich have decided to revive one of their ugliest kits ever by reusing the strange purple ‘peeling’ graphic on the sleeves of the 1992-94 Ribero away kit, but this time they have opted to put it on the full Do jersey -shirt. The result is an explosion of zigzags and waves that instantly trigger a migraine.
As you can see, the original design is hardly something many have been waiting to see resurrected three decades later, but nostalgia can sometimes do strange things to football fans.
Seattle Sounders (Adidas)
There are some strange and beautiful additions to the 2023 MLS jerseys, but none are wilder than the Sounders’ new “Bruce Lee” tribute jersey. As a tribute to the life and times of the martial arts master who moved from Hong Kong to Seattle in 1959, it’s perhaps fitting that the disturbingly over-designed T-shirt hits you like a direct punch to the cerebral cortex.
Sharktopus FC (Olive & York)
As the name suggests, Seattle-based amateur club Sharktopus FC has brought together the two marine threats shark and octopus to launch a sharp-edged, eight-man attack on the 2024 US Open Cup, of which there are currently two non-qualifying games.
But even more frightening than the name is his newest uniform, whose garish design features pink, octopus-style tentacles that coil amid the Puget Sound hurricane.
Reading (Macron)
Third: The reading ended in disaster because of a third jersey that was a dubious “homage” to one of the city’s most popular music venues. In fact, by dedicating their gear to The Purple Turtle, with the help of Reading-based rock band The Amazons, the Royals have created a repulsive and all-too-literal shell design that is sure to be a permanent fixture on any player’s list. “terrible uniforms” over the years.
Bolasatukankita Palembang
Indonesian team Bolasatukankita Palembang has a novel design that’s so hilariously bad that it could almost end up looking like the work of a genius. Recently, it introduced an eye-catching uniform that comes with a full suit, “collar,” “tie,” and “tie.” Belt.”
Perhaps they were mistakenly inspired by Cultural Leonesa, the Spanish club that introduced its infamous “tuxedo” outfit in 2015? Or perhaps this is evidence that the same bad idea can come from two different groups of people?
In any case, they should have left the design concept on the shelf.