England Unveils New Nike Home and Away Kits for 2014

England and Nike unveiled new home and away kits for 2014, revealing designs that focus on English football history and culture, and carry the best in performance innovation.

“Designing the kits for the country that invented the game was a real honor for our design team,"  said Martin Lotti, Nike Football Global Creative Director. "We wanted to pay homage to key moments in England’s proud footballing history.”

ENGLAND HOME KIT

The new England home jersey is a pure and brilliant white with an engineered pinstripe in the fabric. White satin tape on the shoulders gives the jersey a distinctive shine.

“Two references really stood out during the design process for the home kit – that stunning all-white kit England wore in Mexico in 1970 and the idea of the armour of English Knights,” said Lotti.

“You can see subtle references to the armour in the pinstripe, which carries a hint of shine, and in the white satin tape on the shoulders. We wanted to add some small detail that echoed the glow of the armour worn by St. George,”  added Lotti.

The famous three lions crest has a metallic weave to create another shimmering effect, most noticable when the crest catches the light. 

Inside the back of the neck is a pennant tab with a graphic of silver pinstripes that together create a St. George’s cross.

The jersey has a modern V-neck collar, which is both functional and styled for sport.

The 1970 inspiration can be seen in the full kit. The new shorts are classic white with a satin white tape along each side to create the same distinctive shine as the shoulders of the shirt.

The fit of the shorts is slimmer and more tailored to the body, based on fit research and specifically cut to aid movement and comfort. The central back section of the shorts features Nike’s signature laser vents to aid in cooling and allow for moisture management. The new home socks are also white.  

England player Wayne Rooney, said: "I'm always proud to put on the England kit and with these ones it'll be no different. I can't wait to get out to Brasil and play in them this summer.”

Nike has also collaborated with renowned English typographer Neville Brody to create a new font for the names and numbers on the back of this England jersey.

“It has been an extraordinary honour to design the fonts for the English jersey,” said Brody. “The core inspiration was to focus on the intersection between flair and workmanlike reliability. Small touches emphasise the idea of innovation, invention and surprise, built around a more geometric structure. The industrialised suggestion of a stencil was simultaneously based on a pinstripe motif, combining style with no-frills efficiency.”

ENGLAND AWAY KIT

The classic new England away kit celebrates the team’s history and showcases the most evocative national symbols in an innovative new fashion.

“The red jersey has been an icon since England won the World Cup wearing it in 1966,” said Lotti.  “As they prepare to compete this summer, we wanted to pay tribute to their storied history while updating the kit with several contemporary design details.”

The new England away jersey features a bold red tonal pinstripe design subtly infused with a graphic interpretation of St. George’s cross on the front. The St. George’s cross, representing the English patron saint, is an optical illusion and cannot be seen up close, coming into focus only from a distance.

The jersey boasts a unique neckline with a subtle collar design. The front panel goes all the way to the top of the jersey to render the St. George’s cross as large as possible. Ribbing completes the collar around the back of the neck.

The iconic England crest features a satin weave base with embroidered lions to create a lustrous effect. The base uses a bright white with an optical brightener to further enhance its whiteness, making the lions come alive under UV light.

Inside the back of the neck, consistent with the home jersey is a pennant tab, this time with a graphic of red pinstripes that together create a subtle St. George’s cross.

The shorts are white with a red tape along each side, and the away socks are red.  

Both the home and away kits will be worn this summer in Brasil. The new home kit will debut on-pitch in the friendly game with Peru at Wembley on May 30.

ULTIMATE IN COOLING AND COMFORT

The kit aids performance by helping regulate player body temperature over the course of a match. By using a combination of Nike Dri-FIT technology, mesh panels and laser-cut ventilation holes, designers are able to localize cooling where players need it most.

Nike Dri-FIT technology pulls moisture away from the skin to the outside of the garment where it evaporates quickly. Laser-cut ventilation holes and engineered mesh in key areas allow for increased breathability and airflow across the skin. 

“By managing sweat and keeping the body cooler longer, players feel more comfortable, sweat less and perform better,” said Lotti.

In addition to helping players stay cool, the kit is made with a new dual-knit fabrication that incorporates cotton and recycled polyester for the best in moisture-wicking properties, while adding a softer feel and more flattering shape.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

In line with Nike’s commitment to superior performance with lower environmental impact, the shirt, short — and for the first time in a national team kit, the socks — all feature fabric made from recycled plastic bottles (100 percent recycled polyester in the shorts, 96 percent recycled polyester in the shirt and 78 percent in the socks). Each kit is made using an average of 18 recycled plastic bottles. Since 2010, Nike has diverted almost two billion bottles from landfills, enough to cover more than 2,800 full-sized football pitches.

“Incorporating environmental sustainability is a key part of the design and development process for us,” said Lotti. “Our aim is to create a kit that performs for players and is good to the planet.”

PERFECT FIT

Designers utilized three-dimensional body scans of elite footballers to collect data on the form of today’s players and identify an updated fit, improving comfort and allowing the body to move more naturally within the kit.

While looking at every element of the modern football kit, Nike designers even paid special attention to the kits’ socks. Combining athlete insights and research with new materials and fabrications, the Nike Elite Match Fit sock for 2014 features a sleeker fit specific to football. Strategically cushioned zones provide comfort and protection at the big toe and anklebones where the majority of impact occurs, while arch support locks down the foot to help prevent slipping. Material was also eliminated to enhance touch and decrease bulk, and flex grooves were added to the ankle and the top of the foot to prevent bunching.

NIKE PRO BASELAYER

The new Nike Pro baselayer is the lightest ever from Nike and features increased venting and breathability.

Players have a variety of Nike Pro baselayer styles for players to choose from. These are designed for the varying temperatures and conditions athletes will encounter in Brasil, which are expected to vary from high heat during mid-day matches, to much colder temperatures in the southern match locations during evening games. 

Nike has redesigned its baselayer short for 2014 taking insights directly from some of the best players in the world.

“When we asked players to talk about the kind of protection they need during a match, they showed us scars and abrasions on their upper-back hip area from sliding,” recalled Lotti. “Several players showed us these same injuries so we set out to add more protection, while balancing the need for lightweight breathability.”

The result is the Nike Pro Combat Ultralight Slider Short. Featuring increased and adjusted abrasion protection zones to match the athlete’s sliding pattern, the short is also 20 percent lighter than previous versions and made with 87 percent recycled polyester. Weight was eliminated through the addition of mesh for increased breathability and cooling where the athlete generates heat.

The England home and away kits are available to pre-order on nike.com from March 31, and on sale in stores and nike.com worldwide from April 3.