The End of "Normal" Stripes? Leaked 25-26 Kits Confirm Trend
- Dominant Trend: Unconventional and experimental stripe designs are becoming the norm for regular football kits in the 2025-26 season.
- Examples of the Trend: Leaked kits for several major clubs, including Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus, feature non-traditional stripe designs.
- Classic Stripes Reserved: Traditional, clean-cut stripe designs are increasingly being reserved for special occasions like anniversary or heritage kits, rather than being the standard for regular season jerseys.
On Tuesday, Inter reached the Champions League final in an epic match against FC Barcelona. They did so wearing their classic colors, but the very unconventional take on the classic stripes of the 24-25 home kit. Next season, Inter will again experiment with their stripes - and they are by far not the only team.
Unconventional Stripes: A Defining Trend for 2025-26 Kits as Classic Designs Become Rarer
The proliferation of non-traditional stripe designs on football kits isn't an entirely new phenomenon, but a glance at the leaked jerseys for the upcoming 2025-26 season suggests this approach is becoming overwhelmingly dominant. It seems the era of simple, clean-cut stripes as the default for regular season kits is fading, with experimental interpretations taking center stage.
Across Europe's top leagues, the evidence for this intensified trend in 2025-26 is mounting. FC Barcelona's leaked Nike home shirt (via @nicokits) reportedly features blurred Blaugrana stripes and solid sleeves. Adidas's Bayern Munich home kit incorporates a 'soundwave design slightly resembling stripes. In Italy, AC Milan's Puma stripes have a subtle internal patterning (via @opaleak), Inter Milan's Nike stripes bizarrely showcase the lettering Inter, and Juventus' Adidas design radically deconstructs their classic black and white look with angular breaks. Newcastle United's Adidas home kit (via @Nerd5rule01) has a subtle design to connect the classic stripes.
Anniversary Kits With Stripes
This surge in unconventional designs for the 2025-26 season highlights a clear strategy. The desire to offer something new and distinct annually is a factor, but it also appears that truly classic, traditional striped designs are increasingly being reserved for special occasions, such as anniversary kits or heritage collections. This allows clubs to tap into nostalgia for specific moments while pushing contemporary design boundaries for their regular season offerings. The standard kit cycle now seems to heavily favor innovation, making the "normal" stripe a less frequent sight for main kits.
25-26 Kits With Classic Stripes
Not every team will wear experimental stripes next season. Teams like Union Berlin, Fenerbahçe, and Atletico demonstrate that brands do not need to experiment with stripes to create a good kit; in fact, it is quite the opposite.
Stoke City will have wavy stripes next season
While these modern takes can be visually striking, they often divide opinion. Is this shift, so evident for 2025-26, something you welcome, or do you miss the regular appearance of classic stripes outside of special editions? Let us know your thoughts!
