Nike illuminate the pitches with their new third shirts

The new 3rd shirts from Nike represent their latest design experiment, which is inspired by powerful and vibrant colours. Martin Lotti, who is the Creative Director for Global Football has shared some of the design team’s sources of inspiration, when developing the new shirts.

“I wanted to create a design that drenched the players from head to toe in color. I remember being inspired by an art exhibition on London’s South Bank where a room was flooded with these neon lights to create an immersive sensation, and knew, in these kits, the shirt, shorts and socks all had to be the same color.”

This is however not the only place Martin Lotti has found help to spark his creative thought process. Their continuous contact with players has helped them create this brilliant new product too: “We hear from our players that brighter colors make them feel faster and empower them. There is a very real psychological aspect to these colors. The two-tone aspect of the front and back also has a role — the idea of an opponent seeing one color in front of them, but when they are beaten they will see a different color on the back of the shirt. I hope it will inspire players to leave their opponents in the dust.”

Often the clubs colour plays an important role when designing kits and there is usually a certain set of rules, when designing new shirts. With these third shirts however, things are very different: “With home kits you have to respect tradition, and to some extent that goes for away kits too. But with third kits you can be a lot more adventurous. This is where you can produce some new and different excitement and energy. It is a blank canvas to create a new story, challenge people and spark some dialogue and debate. We enjoy surprising fans and players.”

This does however not mean the designers went completely haywire. They still had close contact with the clubs, to make sure it reflects their traditions and expectations to: “We listen to the clubs, and try to strike a balance between looking to the future, and remembering the past. Each club has a broad fan base and we want a kit embraced by everyone old and young.”

All six third shirts are, like all Nike’s new kits, made with all the newest technologies and that is always the most important aspect, when designing the shirts: “There are four elements we focus on. Performance always leads, and we first and foremost look at how we can elevate the athlete. Second, is the style, how it looks and fits. Next is the soul, looking for the soulful details that inspire and speak to the player and fan. And fourth, we look at the entire design through the lens of sustainability in our materials and manufacturing choices.”

So it doesn’t matter whether you support Manchester City, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Galatasaray, PSG, or Juventus, Nike have you covered with these new 3rd shirts. All players and fans of the clubs are definitely ready to stun their opponents, with a flash of brilliance, when they take to the pitch and stands in the new third kits.