Earlier this year it was decided that Liverpool would be changing their kit manufacturer from New Balance to Nike.
Supporter fear that the huge American apparel brand would use the same styles for the Reds’ new kits as they would for their other clients appeared to be allayed when Nike’s Senior Director of Global Communications, Heidi Burgett, tweeted that they were ‘ditching the templates.’
We’re ditching the templates. For the 2020 kits, Nike designers had 65 chassis options available to them across varying necklines, sleeves, cuffs, badge placement, etc. From hand-drawn prints to custom fonts, each team’s look will be its own.
— Heidi Burgett (@heidiburgett) February 5, 2020
However, as Empire of the Kop have pointed out, now that the new designs are known, one in particular bears a striking resemblance to another in the Nike range.
Nike in February: “We’re ditching the templates…each team’s look will be its own.”
Nike in September: pic.twitter.com/SPuIoelILa
— Jack Lusby (@jacklusby_) September 2, 2020
The expectation will be that Liverpool supporters will still buy the kits up in their droves, and at a not insignificant spend to boot.
Arguably, it’s just not possible for kit manufacturers to make a set of kits that are specific to one particular club, though it should be incumbent upon them not to make what amounts to a promise that they don’t intend keeping.
I do not believe they have reneged on their assertion last year. What they have said is they’re not using templates, but there are 65 design options available – its down to the club to choose/sanction what they want from those options. But even with 65 options, its likely that someone somewhere else will choose one of the same options too…
Personally, I love the new kits and if LFC do better financially from the arrangement with Nike – more power to them…
I personally do not like the kits produced by Nike. In their negotiations they promised unique kits of which they have not produced. Once they got their foot in the door those promises were ditched. The second kit makes us look like Man City and how this was accepted is beyond me. I know some fans say the kit is growing on them but they are kits I certainly will not buy.
I also don’t like the second kit and if the third kit is black with red on the neck and red writeing on the front I won’t like that either Nike at the start show the third Jersey in all black with pink on the sleeves going round and the writing in pink on the front that was nice I would buy that one but if its what I said at first I will not be buying the second and third Jersey hope Nike go back to the third Jersey with pink writeing and going round the sleeves I definitely would buy it then