Man City’s ‘Brit Pop’ paisley third kit is a bold abomination

Ollie Irish

28th, August 2020

2 Comments

Third kits should be out there, a chance for designers to go off-piste. Otherwise, what else are they for? Rhetorical question, obviously – we all know why third kits exist, and it’s not to provide work to designers.

For Man City’s new third kit, Puma has come up with a paisley offering that is supposed to be a tribute to Manchester’s music scene. According to the PR blurb: “The pattern is synonymous with artists from the ‘Mod’ and the ‘Brit Pop’ eras of the 1990’s [sic] and was a staple of youth fashion in the 1960’s, influencing fashion and music culture in Manchester for generations.”

It continues: “For the design we have utilised the rose and the three rivers from the club’s crest to create this unique jersey at the junction of football, music and fashion.”

Manchester’s junction of football, music and fashion (Liam Gallagher, basically) is not somewhere I ever want to find myself at 3am after a night out. Nor do I ever want to read the word junction in a press release for a new footy kit. And whilst I think it looks 90% hideous (plain sleeves would have highlighted the design in a more stylish way), I have to respect this shirt’s cojones. It really is out there, it answers the third kit brief and then some. Some Citeh fans will adore it, I’m sure.

What do you think?