Swedish Champions and the undisputed dons of footballing replica AIK are back at it again with another limited edition blackout kit. Back to business in a suit of stealth, the darkened design drops in restricted numbers as the club prepare to defend their title in 2019.
This isn't the first time that AIK have turned on the special edition style for a disruptive jersey drop. Last season they unveiled an all black and all white kits to wear in pre-season, and once they'd clinched the title they dropped a "Black/Gold" celebratory shirt – all three of which sold out in minutes. Just 128 shirts packaged in presentation boxes will hit prodirectsoccer.com on Jan 21 at 4PM GMT, so don't expect them to hang around for long. If you're still reading this, it's probably too late.
The shirt itself is triple black with even the club logo, Nike Swoosh and '1891' branding across the chest all going full blackout. The '1891' inclusion is the year that the club were formed, and replaces the usual shirt sponsor on the home jersey to complement the timeless design. AIK lifted the Swedish title for the first time in nine years in 2018, and the limited edition blackout shirt signals a reset mentality; the gold splashes of the title jersey are gone as the club looks to do it all over again this time around. And yeah, you wish your club were as sharp as AIK, don't you?
As well as executing the benchmark of replica design for 2019, AIK are also reinvesting all profits from the shirt sales back into the AIK Fotball Mentor program for young people, who through football works to counter segregation in Stockholm suburbs. 2018 was a huge year for football shirt design with an array of brazen, bold and eye-catching aesthetics; but this here is right up there in an alternative trend of flavoured flair. The definition of less is more.
Pick up the Nike AIK 1891 Black Edition Shirt from prodirectsoccer.com and shop the wider '1891' collection at aikshop.se
