With the new football season approaching, clubs from across Europe and beyond have been busy revealing their kits for the 2026-27 campaign, with many designs drawing heavily on nostalgia and club anniversaries.
AC Milan have marked two decades since their last Champions League triumph with an away shirt modelled by former striker Filippo Inzaghi, who scored twice in the 2007 final win over Liverpool, alongside current defender Davide Bartesaghi. Elsewhere in Italy, Napoli have released a special centenary blue home kit to celebrate their founding in 1926, complete with a 100-year anniversary badge, while their third shirt recalls the designs worn during the Diego Maradona era of the late 1980s. Juventus have also stepped away from last season's experimental look, returning to their traditional thick black-and-white stripes.
In England, Arsenal have introduced a bold red-and-white home shirt to mark 20 years since their move to the Emirates Stadium, while their yellow third kit echoes designs from the late 1980s. Liverpool's new home strip pays tribute to the Adidas kit worn between 1989 and 1991, the period when Kenny Dalglish's side won the First Division title, and their away shirt draws on European away-day ticket stubs from the 1970s and 1980s. Manchester United have unveiled a home kit inspired by their late-1970s shirts and an away strip referencing a rarely-used 1988-90 third kit.
Promoted clubs have also embraced their history. Coventry City, who return to the Premier League after 25 years under manager Frank Lampard, have based their new home shirt on the jersey worn during their 1987 FA Cup final win over Tottenham Hotspur. Ipswich Town's kit takes design cues from the Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey stands at Portman Road, while Hull City's new shirt, launched alongside a partnership with kit supplier Oxen, evokes their late-1970s look as they prepare for a Premier League return after a decade away.
Anniversaries have played a central role elsewhere too. Middlesbrough have released a red-and-gold kit to celebrate 150 years since the club's founding, and Fiorentina's centenary shirt features an embossed pattern inspired by Renaissance architecture in Florence. Real Oviedo and Sampdoria have similarly marked significant milestones — a century for the Spanish club and 80 years for the Italian side — with commemorative designs.
Celtic's new home shirt honours the 60th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions' 1967 European Cup triumph over Inter Milan, featuring a commemorative badge inside the collar. Chelsea's kit nods to the 1990s