Barcelona and Nike blend the iconic red and blue colours of the home kit to produce a bold new purple away kit for the 2016-17 season. The Spanish Champions' style of play will be complemented by their stylish strip when they embark on the road to retaining their title and reconquering Europe.
Using the same Nike Vapor AeroSwift technology that the Swoosh used on their EURO 2016 jerseys, the new Barca shirt is engineered with knit zones across the chest that create a geometric pattern that enhances fit (the same pattern was visible on the England, Portugal & France shirts). All very clever, right? For us though, it's all about those socks. The strong sort of a design you just couldn't get away if you were a club anything less than a dominant world force. I.e Port Vale couldn't pull off purple shirts with pink socks. Their time will come.
Expect a vivid matching pink font to sit on the back of the shirt in a style that takes inspiration from the curves of the city’s iconic architecture. The sleeves and the upper back have been infused with black to produce a darker purple and the sides of the kit feature a pink stripe detail that run the length of the shirt to the purple shorts. The stripe expands when the player is in motion providing greater ventilation and revealing bold flashes of purple underneath. Pink socks, with a distinctive purple linear graphic on the calf, accentuate a sense of speed.
Purple's very much the colour of the summer in La Liga with Real Madrid also slapping it across their away strip. Could you wear it against a team wearing red and blue stripes? Probably not. But, it's a beaut nonetheless. Barca will get a chance to switch into their new away strip in pre-season when they face Celtic in Dublin, Leicester in Stockholm and Liverpool at Wembley. Some tour that.
Want it? Pick one up here.
