Premier League 2026-27 kits: From Elvis-inspired pink to barcode confusion
As the new season begins, The Guardian Fashion assesses the season’s most striking and controversial designs, ranging from retro throwbacks to modern aesthetic missteps.
The 2026-27 Premier League season commences on Friday, bringing with it a fresh wave of sportswear that ranges from nostalgic homages to bold, if controversial, modern interpretations. The Guardian Fashion has released a review of the upcoming season’s strips, categorising the designs into instant classics, odd inspirations, and outright failures. The assessment highlights a diverse mix of aesthetics, from the sleek minimalism of Chelsea to the high-concept collaboration seen at Sunderland.
Chelsea’s new home kit has drawn praise for its Pro Evo-inspired design, featuring a 90s polo-shirt collar and a notable absence of a corporate logo. The club previewed the look with a surprise appearance by Cole Palmer and João Pedro in a video featuring longtime supporter Madonna. The design is described as neat and stylish, leveraging the clean lines of the vintage aesthetic to create a modern classic.
In a surprising cultural crossover, Sunderland has collaborated with the Elvis Presley estate on a pink away shirt. The design references the supporters’ unofficial anthem, “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” marking a unique intersection of music history and football culture. Meanwhile, Hull City’s home kit, designed by homegrown brand Oxen Sports, serves as a retro homage to the late 1970s. Featuring wide black and amber stripes, the shirt reintroduces the HCAFC logo for the first time in 47 years, evoking the spirit of the club’s historical identity.
The review also identifies several designs that have fallen short of expectations. Manchester City’s home kit, which utilises an ombre design, is described as exhausted for 2026. Tottenham’s kits are criticised as insufferably dull, with the home strip heavily featuring Ted Drake’s lion emblem. Newcastle’s home shirt has been compared to a barcode, a pattern described as dizzying and disrupted, while the away strip offers a more refined navy alternative with a castle and magpie badge.
Other clubs face scrutiny for their aesthetic choices. Crystal Palace’s Macron-designed sash is noted as striking but busy. Ipswich’s home kit features a motif inspired by Portman Road’s floodlights, which the reviewer compares to plumbobs from The Sims rather than stadium lights. West Bromwich Albion’s home kit is described as disjointed, with thick white stripes on the red shirt and black stripes on the white shorts creating a look that resembles two separate kits.
As fans prepare to don their new strips, the 2026-27 season offers a mixed bag of sportswear. The designs reflect a broader trend in football fashion, where clubs attempt to balance heritage with modern innovation, sometimes with success and other times with mixed results.
