Crystal Palace have made a striking change to their identity this season, stepping out in a white home shirt for the first time in almost 20 years as they begin the 2026-27 Premier League campaign.
The Eagles have long been associated with blue and red, the two colours that have dominated their home kits for decades. White, however, is not an entirely new addition to the club's visual history. It has often appeared as a secondary shade in home shirts over the past 40 years and has been the dominant colour in various away and third kits during that time.
This season marks a deliberate shift, though, as Palace have chosen to make white the primary colour of their main shirt. The design features a diagonal sash across the chest in blue and red, a nod to the club's traditional colour scheme even as the overall look changes. The choice is rooted in club history rather than simply aesthetic preference.
According to the club, the new design pays tribute to a shirt worn exactly 50 years ago. Palace first wore a sash design during their memorable run to the FA Cup semi-finals in 1976, a campaign that left a lasting impression on supporters. The following season, the club adopted the sash as its full-time home kit, and the look continued to be used regularly into the early 1980s before eventually falling out of favour.
Adding another layer of nostalgia, the new shirt also revives Palace's former circular crest, which was used by the club between 1973 and 1987. The combination of the sash design and the old badge gives the kit a distinctly retro feel, connecting the current squad to one of the more celebrated eras in the club's history.
Palace wore the new shirt competitively for the first time in their opening league fixture of the season, a 2-0 defeat away at Everton. Pierre Sage's side will don the kit at Selhurst Park for the first time on Friday night, when Manchester City visit south London for Palace's first home match of the campaign.
The last occasion on which Palace used a white shirt as their primary home kit was back in the 2008-09 season, a campaign the club spent playing in the Championship rather than the top flight. The return of white as the main colour, therefore, represents a notable departure from the identity supporters have grown used to over the past 17 years, even as the underlying colours of blue and red remain present through the sash.
For a club steeped in tradition, the decision to revisit a design from half a century ago reflects an effort to blend heritage with a fresh look on the pitch. Whether the shirt becomes a lasting favourite among supporters may depend in part on how the team performs while wearing it, starting with Friday's high-profile clash against the reigning champions at Selhurst Park.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.