Forget about London
Fashion Week and ignore what's happening on the catwalks of New
York and Milan.
The smartest gear for next
season will soon hit the shops and you can get a first look right
here as the Premier League teams unveil their home, away and third
kits for the new campaign.
Some supporters will be
desperate to pull on their their new strip while some will be
thinking 'it's just not me' but will wear it anyway.
How many bigger-built fans
have their fingers crossed their club doesn't go down the
skinny-fit route Spurs went down a few seasons ago?
And before the official
release there's bound to be some dodgy fakes doing the rounds on
the internet.
So with a whole host of new
strips hitting the stores in the coming weeks - Sportsmail brings
you the best - and worst - of what's on offer throughout the
summer.
A fading title challenge
aside, Arsenal don't have much to cheer these days (just take a
look at the Emirates trophy cabinet) so to make up for it, the kit
next season is set to celebrate their 125th anniversary.
This is the official version
of the new kit, sported by defender Gael Clichy, and it looks a
little lost without a white collar.
Top gun: Gael Clichy sports Arsenal's 125 year
anniversary home strip for next season
There also looks to be two
away numbers on the way. After getting over the initial shock of
what looks like a cut-and-shut kit, fans may take to the blue
Monacoesque style shirt that takes the same colour scheme as the
club's mid 90s away kit.
Second take: Internet images of what the Arsenal away
and third strip could look like next season
The white shirt looks to be a
mock-up and Gunners fans will hope so as they won't want to be seen
in a colour associated with rivals Tottenham.
The away strips are unconfirmed but fans will be hoping
they are more exciting that the home number Sportsmail
verdict 6/10
Following the arrival of
£24million Darren Bent in January, Aston Villa fans probably had
something else in mind when they heard they would be seeing more
cheques in the summer.
Sadly for them it may turn out
the ‘checks’ are for their new home strip – with this latest
rumoured kit from Nike not stretching too far into
innovation.
In fact take away the claret
checks and you just have Villa’s home shirt from the 2008/09 season
with a slight change to the collar.
In truth it doesn’t look that
bad but you just think Nike are scraping the barrel for trying to
think of ways to design a Villa kit.
With the existing home strip
being sold at a reduced price on the club website, a new home kit
looks to be on the horizon – but best leave the checks to the
Croatians.
Sportsmail Verdict
7/10
Checkmate: Fans will note the similarity to the home
shirt from 2008/09
Leave it to Croatia: Villa's away kit also looks like
it will be chequered
And you don't have to look too
far to see where the inspiration is behind the away strip - which
is also yet to be confirmed by the club.
Checks can look good but on
this away strip it looks dull and resembles a Boavista strip that
has been through the was a fair few times.
It's hard to even see a
sponsor's logo bringing it to life but if all else fails...have a
game of chess. Sportsmail verdict
6/10
Rumours that Bolton’s new home
strip was designed by a five-year-old dizzy on lemonade are yet to
be founded, either way this is enough to give you a
migraine.
The only credit to Reebok is
that they have been ambitious with their latest attempt and no fan
can complain that it looks remotely similar to any other strip in
seasons gone by.
But judging by the look on
Kevin Davies’ face, he doesn’t seem overjoyed with the latest
design and it's hard to imagine where you can wear this anywhere
outside the Reebok Stadium without being laughed at...and that's
before you get to the netting/see-through material on the front of
the shirt.
Bolton may have got away with this in the
fashion-challenged early 90s, but it’s hard to see this being
looked back on as being innovative or classic a few years down the
line. Sportsmail Verdict 3/10
What do you think lads? Bolton players Chung-yong Lee
(left) and Kevin Davies try to keep a straight face modelling the
new Bolton home strip
They may be slightly off the pace with a
handful of games to go in the Premier League but Chelsea have
stolen a march on their rivals by bursting out of the traps in the
fashion race.
The new home kit takes inspiration from
Chelsea strips of the early 1980s with the shadow striped design on
the front while the white shoulder pad has been added to make
adidas' iconic three stripes stand out.
Could you carry this
off on the King's Road? We think so. Sportsmail verdict 8/10
Blues brothers: (from left) How Didier Drogba, Frank
Lampard, John Terry and Fernando Torres will look
Is that a good idea? Petr Cech models the new ALL-WHITE
keeper's kit while Lampard does a catalogue pose
And below is the design of the
Blues new away kit for next season. The change strip takes on a
unique patch-work look which the likes Lampard and Torres will hope
to stun their opponents.
Or the club might just be
using it to demonstrate to £50m flop Fernando Torres what a goal
actually looks like?
It's a black and blue
nightmare: Sportsmail's verdict 4/10
To be Frank: Lampard doesn't look that chuffed to be
wearing the new away kit
New shirt or new signing? Everton's Tim Cahill (left)
stands with Real Madrid's Kaka
No cooling/performance aiding
stuff here. Le Coq Sportif look like they have gone back to basics
with a simple blue shirt complimented by golden brown trim and a
smart collar to match.
The same amount of thought
looks to have gone into the away strip, but looks much less classy.
How long does it take to think of sticking three logos on to a
standard T-shirt?
Both shirts lack all the usual
scientific nonsense that come with your standard football kit, but
don’t expect a price drop because of that.
The home shirt is yet to be
confirmed by the club but despite its simplicity, does look the
part.
We may have to wait until later this summer thought to
find out if Tim Cahill's modelling skills have been enough to
convince Kaka of a move to Goodison Park. Sportsmail home verdict
7/10.
The yellow strip is not going to be remembered for years
to come but Toffees fans will be pleased to see the back of that
garish pink strip. Sportsmail away
verdict 6/10
There just seems to be no
middle ground with Kappa.
After graphite/red and
green/gold away kits from this season were considered a step too
far in design by some supporters, the Italian company for 2011/12
have opted for a plain black shirt with just their own logos in red
to break it up.
Fans once again will be
disappointed with a skin-tight design but can take consolation that
the strip will contain 'underwiring' technology...or maybe
not.
In fairness it's close to
being a neat classy number, but the huge and high sponsor logo in
the centre spoils the overall look. Sportsmail verdict 5/10
Fans looking to wear something
a bit brighter at Craven Cottage next term may prefer to purchase
the luminous green goalkeeper kit which is also new for next
season.
Feeling blue: Dirk Kuyt models the new Liverpool third
strip
Good news Liverpool fans. Your
team‘s new third strip (right) for the 2011/12 season will be one
of the classiest looking in the Premier League.
Bad news is it will share the
colours of local rivals Everton!
Adidas have tried to side-step
the issue by calling it cyan, but the colour choice is in fact a
nod to the club’s first home kit worn almost 120 years ago which
incorporated blue and white halves.
There is more positives though
as this kit is soaked in technology including Techfit and
Climacool, which somehow increase speed, endurance and
awareness….no we don’t know how a football kit can do this either
but it is still going to cost you £50
On design alone it looks
excellent, but points are deducted for putting blue on a Liverpool
kit which is sure to split fans.
Sportsmail verdict
8/10
If the Liverpool players
aren't careful they'll fade into the background during their
midweek matches in the winter next season with this new
strip.
But then again, maybe that's
what the club want, in case they have another disastrous start to
the season and find themselves in the bottom half of the table once
again.
Joking aside, the Anfield club
have chosen a smart number for their new campaign, a top that could
even look classy on the right person.
They say that grown men
shouldn't wear replica tops outside the ground, but that could all
be about to change.
Sportsmail verdict
8/10
Black is back: Liverpool have chosen a sleek new design
for next season's away kit
Plain: Manchester City's home shirt could continue with
the simple design seen over the last few seasons
The future is bright for
Manchester City but they are certainly not leading the way in kit
designs.
Umbro's idea of a new home
strip seems to be just change to a v-neck collar and switch the
sponsor colour.
This is only a rumoured effort
but fans will be hoping for something a little more adventurous
ahead of their first season in the Champions League. Sportsmail verdict 6/10
A red and black striped away
shirt is certainly not new to fans with the inspiration taken from
the most famous shirt in the club’s history – the black and red
shirt worn in 1969 and 1970 during which time City won the FA Cup,
League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup.
Indeed it is a smart design
with its simplistic stripes and we think the gold marking on the
sponsor and logos are pulled off well.
'The shirt is designed so that
when a player celebrates a goal or links arms with team mates, the
black and red stripe remains consistent.
For this reason, there is no
seam on the underarm as traditionally stitching can distort the
shape and flow of a stripe.' according to designers
Umbro.
City will look good trying to
overshadow AC Milan in the Champions League but fans will only have
to ask Tottenham and Blackburn supporters about having skin-tight
shirts. Sportsmail verdict
8/10
City slickers: Dedryck Boyata, Edin Dzeko and Pablo
Zabaleta (l-r) proudly show off Man City's new away kit
Ready to go: Patrice Evra poses in the new Manchester
United home strip
Unlike the team, Manchester
United kits have been uninspiring in recent years but despite
winning a record 19th league title next season will be no
different.
After an experiment with the
black rugby league-style 'v' last season and a tacky retro number
for this campaign, Nike have lost all creativity and plumped for a
plain red shirt with a weird black and white collar.
It looks like it was designed
in no more than five minutes and for an extra £10 on top of the
already pricey £44.99, fans can choose to customise their kit with
the lettering 'champions' and No.19 in gold on the
reverse.
It probably wasn't the golden
touch that fans were hoping for.
Sportsmail home verdict
5/10
The away kit, an unofficial picture, looks a lot like a
T-shirt with its round collar. Not bad but if you're going for blue
and black stripes, do it right like Inter Milan. Sportsmail away verdict 5/10
Home or away? Newcastle's third strip shares the same
colours as the home kit
And now for something
completely different. Full marks to Puma for trying to give
Newcastle's black and white stripes a new twist.
An interesting addition is the
'go faster' stripes down the front - which neatly incorporates the
sponsor's logo - but there is still no hard evidence these work on
cars... or footballers.
Newcastle's loyal fans won't
be too bothered what it looks like as long as they can easily whip
it off to reveal a bare chest on a freezing cold evening at a
ground near you.
The most original Toon kit in
a long time, a lot better than the cream-cracker effort from two
seasons back. Sportsmail verdict 8/10
And speaking of change strips,
the Toon have released a new third kit too.
We are a bit puzzled by this
one. Yes it looks very stylish with its different shade diagonal
lines and white stripes going across the front of the chest. And
even the gold Puma logo and badge look decent.
But the point of a change
strip is so that there is no clash of colours, and here we have a
home strip that is black and white and a third strip that
is...well...black and white.
We await an away kit that is
white with black trim, but as a stand alone strip this is a solid
effort by Puma, even if those shady lines are just recycled from
Tottenham's 2009/10 yellow kit.
Sportsmail verdict 8/10
Norwich are the first of the
Premier League's promoted sides to release a new kit but this
effort is hardly going to get Canary supporters chirping with
excitement.
Fans looking for some Italian
flare from designers Errea will be left disappointed with the basic
looking shirt which hardly captures a smile from Grant Holt and Co
modelling the kit.
They will also have to deal
with the white trim that has appeared on the sleeves and the collar
for the first time, but sponsors Aviva will not be complaining
about under exposure.
Fabrizio Taddei, Errea Sales
Director however was more optimistic, he said: 'Once the fans see
the new 'Creato in Italia' range we are sure they will be delighted
not only with the styling and quality, but also with the fact that
the clothing is produced in the EU and carries the unique Oeko-Tex
non-toxic textiles guarantee.'
We are sure they will
agree...
An away kit will be revealed later in the summer.
Sportsmail verdict 5/10
Italian inspiration: Errea are Norwich's kit suppliers
for their return to the Premier League
Stripes are in: Fans will be pleased to see stripes
feature on the front and back of the new home shirt
Stoke fans have already been
through an identity crisis this season when the traditional stripes
were removed from the back of the club's home strip.
But they will be pleased to
hear that although they will have to shell out another £45 on a new
home shirt, the stripes look set return to the back of the
strip.
The club website is taking
pre-orders on the kit but has not yet released an official
picture.
Adidas have taken things to a
new level for the away kit, unveiling a kit that the club believes
makes them resemble Inter Milan.
With the club in Europe next
term, even captain Ryan Shawcross couldn’t help but notice the
obvious link with the Italian giants.
‘Let’s hope we can play like
Inter Milan too,' he said. 'It looks very impressive and I am sure
it will be a winner with our fans.’
It’s a neat enough effort from
Adidas, even with that slightly annoying collar. But despite the
optimism of Shawcross, don’t expect the Potters to be challenging
for a Champions League place just yet.
Sportsmail verdict 7/10
Judging by the presence of the Premier League
badge on the sleeve, the home kit was designed before Sunderland
started their alarming slide down the table.
But ignoring the fact that relegation was
still a possibility late in the season, this is a smart effort from
Umbro, who have kept a simple design with the stripes but included
a black trim around the collar and sleeves that looks neat and
tidy.
Black Cats fans will
certainly look the part. Sportsmail verdict 8/10
For the new away kit there is
a simple but effective blue and white design, however Umbro are
slightly tempting fate with this.
The last time the Black Cats
had these colours as their away strip, they were relegated from the
Premier League with a then record low total of 19 points and 21
goals in 2003.
After the slump towards the end of last season fans won't
want another reminder of how bad things can really get. On the
positive side a chirpy looking Titus Bramble and Co don't look like
they will be feeling the blues anytime soon. Sportsmail verdict: 9/10
Wolves have been hot under the collar trying
to beat relegation for much of the season so to combat any future
problems, designers Burrda have opted for a simple round neck on a
new home shirt – the club’s fifth in as many
years.
Much of the heavy black trim has gone from
the previous design replaced with faint black lines which look fine
until you notice the front of the
shirt.
The line going across the chest looks like
somebody has made a mistake with a ballpoint pen on the design
template and is going to take some getting used
to.
However it is a subtle
attempt to be unique from the designers which fans could grow to
like. Sportsmail verdict
6/10
Better news for supporters (and their purse
strings) is that the club have decided to retain this year’s black
away kit for next season.
Going for gold: Wolves' George Elokobi, Matt Jarvis and
Adlene Guedioura (l-r) show off the new home shirt
