AC Milan unveiled their slick new 2024/25 fourth kit in their recent hard-fought win over Hellas Verona in Serie A. Rather than stick to their home kit, the Rossoneri players donned a stylish attire created in collaboration with Italian luxury fashion brand Off-White.
For those unknowing, Off-White was created in 2013 by American designer Virgil Abloh in the city of Milan. The brand has mostly gained prominence for their attractive shoe designs, but the Rossoneri gave them an opportunity to become popular among football fans as well.
This is the first-ever football kit designed by Off-White. The fourth kit is inspired by Pan-African colors, having a black base that fades into a green color towards the bottom of the tshirt. There are red and yellow logos around the cuffs and collar region too.
The Puma and Fly Emirates logos are both colored in yellow. But the thing that really pops up is the club crest, that has been printed in the tonal black color. There is also a word ‘Diavoli’ imprinted right over the crest. This is the Italian word for ‘Devil’, as well as being used as a nickname for AC Milan.
This unique kit design is apparently inspired by the ‘Dreamland concept, inspired by the power of dreams and symbolism’. The kit also has discreet references to AC Milan’s past success, having the number 63 imprinted inside the collar – with this being a tribute to 1963 – the year the club won their first ever European Cup (UEFA Champions League).
This attire pays homage to the Black Community during the ongoing Black History Month (in February). That is why the colors of the attire have been inspired by some of the colors in different African countries’ national flags. This attire is meant to help elevate the importance of celebrating and elevating the black culture.
Something about this kit which really caught the attention of fans was not on its front, but in the back of the shirts. During the match against Hellas Verona, the players all had their names on the back being covered by quotation marks.
This is a strange innovation that features only on this fourth kit itself. All the players names are surrounded by this symbol that makes it seem like a quote from somebody.
Fans have been left confused by this bizarre aspect of the kit. One fan commented: “Can’t help but feel the quotation marks are one of those mishaps where someone’s said “f*** it, let’s pretend we did it on purpose.’”
Another supporter argued: “Absurd kit choice by AC Milan to put players’ names between quotation marks. “Joao Felix”, “Abraham” etc. Never seen this before in my life.”
Well, the reason for this strange addition is because it’s a trademark Off-White design. The brand’s designer Virgil Abloh is notorious about using quotations on any words he displays on his products. One of Off-White’s most-sold items is a black dress that had the word ‘Little Black Dress” written on it.
Abloah explained to 032c magazine on this strange choice, claiming: “You can use typography and wording to completely change the perception of a thing without changing anything about it. If I take a men’s sweatshirt and write “woman” on its back, that’s art.”
Moreover, the brand has also argued that quotation marks work as a source identifier and are eligible for trademark protection. Off-White has gotten into trouble with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for some of their quotation trademark products, with the USPTO rejecting the ‘For Walking’ application.
However, Off-White had no problem securing the permission to use quotation marks on players name for this AC Milan kit. This quotation marks are also a nod to Martin Luther King Jr’s famous ‘I have a dream’ quote, which was also made in 1963!
This slick new Rossoneri kit has been released on their online store available for worldwide shipping. The shirt itself is priced at around £100. The entire kit (including shorts and socks) costs around £185. For fans wanting the wacky quotation player names, they’d have to pay £13 extra. Well, it’s probably worth it for those wanting to stand out in terms of boasting unique football kits.
