Newcastle’s stripes have been considered untouchable for over a hundred years. adidas has touched them anyway – and built the club its boldest home kit in years.
There’s little room for manoeuvre with Newcastle United’s home kit: black and white vertical stripes, for over a hundred years. For the 26/27 season, adidas has tampered with them anyway. The stripes are no longer all the same width: broad black bands sit next to ultra-thin pinstripes, and the familiar grid falls out of step. It’s still unmistakably Newcastle.
To let the pattern do its work, the rest holds back. The only colour is a light blue taken from the club crest: on the collar, the cuffs and the three stripes across the shoulders. And anyone who turns the kit around will find a small printed magpie on the back of the neck. Shorts and socks stay plain black.
Newcastle and adidas have gone for a bold design for their new home kit
More interesting than any detail, though, is the direction. Newcastle’s recent kits almost always drew on historical templates; this pattern has none. Whether it will one day serve as a template itself remains to be seen. Right now, it’s the most exciting home kit the club has worn in a long time.
Available since 10 June at shop.newcastleunited.com and adidas.com.
