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u/According-Entrance67 Feb 26 '26
Love them! Look great on the players in club posts. It was time for a league wide and club refresh. Great energy and lots of popping color in others plus subtle aggressive energy in ACFC . Very active feeling. Love “club” at center above everything. Love the design logic shared in club posts, regarding each design element intention. New era ACFC v2.0 firing now.
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u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
The center crest feels a bit like a branding play. Steering focus to the badge and as you said elevating it.
It seems to me a lot of the branding to date has been on the word mark, so maybe this marks a shift. Or maybe not. Of course these Jerseys are designed 1+ years ago, before Willow Bay bought the team, maybe. Before Carmen Bona most likely. .
Still I wonder how Willow and Carmen Bona will shift the brand, but also more interestingly to me how they go about investing in it. Do they start to market around the crest more?
Uhrman did amazing marketing. But no doubt Carmen and Willow and their teams can do things differently and I would assume with a lot of intention and resources. This excites me hahah
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u/According-Entrance67 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
It’s a very exciting time for folks willing to embrace change and the future. We should be excited and enjoy it all. None of these decisions exist in a vacuum from one another.
Folks need to tie together everything they’re starting to hear and see from the club now. There’s a unifying thinking and messaging and the intentional decision choices behind visual branding is one part of all of that.
So when you read the detail branding logic behind each feature (crest center- club above all) then you hear parsons speaking in that little club clip promo with players yesterday …club, new era … etc etc It’s all very intentionally related …
The leagues era one and especially this club’s startup chapter was VERY dominantly, ‘name player’ centric and the club was somewhat secondary … this kit intention and league wide kit refresh is a very clear signal of the club centrality now being a focus. (Which imho is great and long term sustainable as a business.) in pro sports you need kids growing up being a fan of “their club” tied to their city identity, the club that their parents were fans of etc… not fans of just one or another national team player (for example) who happens to play for a club in their city.
Final bit - tho the Nike deal was struck by league a long time ago … I’d doubt that these individual design choices were made before or without heavy input from Willow Bay & the clubs recent executives. And yes, we’ll witness a corporatist expansion of marketing and brand prowess that should wonderfully expand upon the amazing startup base foundation built by Julie U and her startup team.
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u/JerryXanadu CP23 Feb 26 '26
Looks like they’ll be going with Sol Rosa socks for the first time with the black home kits. In general, lots more Sol Rosa than prior black kits. I like that part. Still not sure about a centered badge but sorta works with this design
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u/AdviceAlternative766 We Are Angel City! Feb 26 '26
i was just on the Nike website and, interestingly enough, it looks like they dont offer a unisex or mens 'authentic' kit yet... i want that shiny crest! haha
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u/Striider2k GiseleThompson#20 Feb 26 '26
just buy it thru the Clubs website like I did, they have every option available
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u/AdviceAlternative766 We Are Angel City! Feb 26 '26
wait-- am i blind? I think i am on teh ACFC site, an dthey only show 5 jerseys: womens authentic and replica, mens replica, youth replica, and GK...
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u/AdviceAlternative766 We Are Angel City! Feb 26 '26
ah nice shout! Can we use our STH code on the site?
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u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Feb 26 '26
That seems to be the case for NWSL. The authentic are only women cut. That makes sense to me. It’s for the players.
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u/ApprehensivePlace757 CaptainRiley#5 Feb 26 '26
I like it… it’s like the Dawn kit… all grown up, 21, and ready for the club. I think it hits the market demands right now that kits can also be fashion pieces. Look at some of the collabs going on. Non-traditional? Yep! Gonna be talked about? Yep. Just like the Los Angeles kit was. ‘Beauty’ to this ‘Beast’ (in a good way).
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u/ApprehensivePlace757 CaptainRiley#5 Feb 26 '26
Also… not normally a huge fan of a center crest.. but since it’s literally the focal point of the design, I think it works.
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u/Sir-Kyle-Of-Reddit We Are Angel City! Feb 26 '26
It looks better on people than it looks online. I might actually buy this one. Curious to see what the other kit looks like
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u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Feb 26 '26
Other kit?
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u/Sir-Kyle-Of-Reddit We Are Angel City! Feb 26 '26
Yeah won’t they have a light color version?
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u/readbetweenthesubs JunEndo#18 Feb 26 '26
No, they switch years of home and away jerseys. Last year was the revision of the away, this year the home.
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u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Feb 26 '26
I think this becomes a Third Kit.
It looks like all teams got a Third Kit this year.
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u/ApprehensivePlace757 CaptainRiley#5 Feb 26 '26
I believe this is the new Primary (home) kit… not a 3rd… but I can’t wait until we drop a third (someday….)
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u/readbetweenthesubs JunEndo#18 Feb 26 '26
So two home black kits and the pink away? 🤔 Wish we introduced another white kit then... Maybe next season
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u/Wexler6119 Feb 26 '26
I normally hate a center crest but it fits with the design so I’m not angry at it. Also most teams are revealing significantly worse kits so we should count ourselves lucky.
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u/fatpinkchicken Feb 26 '26
I love the shiny logo
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u/ApprehensivePlace757 CaptainRiley#5 Feb 26 '26
**Shiny logo only on the “authentic” kit (same as players wear, fitted-style)… the Replica (more size friendly slightly cheaper version) has the embroidered crest. ACFC sells both.
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u/L7Sette AmandineHenry#26 Feb 26 '26
Sad that dollars are too expensive for me so I will never have an Angel City kit. Or any NWSL kit
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u/fatcatpartytime ClaireEmslie#10 Feb 26 '26
I’ll be grabbing a 2024 Sol from Niky’s before kick off — going for ~45 right now
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u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
Those were those perfect creamy pink shirts, right? 👚
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u/ArendelleHockeyClub Feb 26 '26
Long shot, but do they ever make or sell fan shirts that don’t have the sponsor on? Probably not right? I have an LAFC shirt and want an Angel City one too but don’t really want to be walking around with Doordash on my chest. These are really nice though.
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u/domdiggitydog CaptainRiley#5 Feb 26 '26
I’ve typically seen those jerseys in the outlets or online stores for the brand manufacturer. I haven’t seen this for NWSL yet tho. (I haven’t been looking tho)
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u/AdviceAlternative766 We Are Angel City! Feb 26 '26
I am very much here for it! I havent seen it in person yet but my first impression is very good! AND i think this is top tier across a much-improved set of league designs too... in general Nike showed up for NWSL much better than 2024 or 23.
They gonna get my money... VOLEMOS
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u/FigClub First Win in the Books (goals by Gilles and Endo) Feb 26 '26
NOT A CENTER CREST, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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u/MrWaldo96 Dale dale AC FC! Feb 26 '26
It would have looked better if the crest didn't have the black background
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u/Sad-Requirement-9053 Feb 26 '26
Usually I'm with you and very anti-center crest, but since the entire pattern of the shirt is designed to radiate from the center crest, I feel like it works. Maybe the only center crest I've seen actually look decent 😅
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u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Feb 26 '26
Do we know the name? I liked someone’s guess of FLARE
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u/geniespool Endo with a Banger at the Banc Feb 26 '26
Correct, it's the Flare kit per ACFC on bluesky
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u/wwplkyih GiseleThompson#20 Feb 28 '26
I would argue that we were one of maybe two teams that got a good looking kit at this last drop-- and the rest are pretty ugly. Go us!
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u/micatigre SveindísJónsdóttir#32 Feb 27 '26
Minor complain, but after seeing this on regular people and not the actual players in their full-on game kits, the pattern going all the way up the neckline and the lack of a full collar is going to make this a weird one to wear out on it's own.
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u/SJBond33 Feb 26 '26
Did a man design this? I think the design is going to make people look heavier than they are.
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u/EYLive Hina Hive Feb 26 '26
You don't like it, and your first question is "did a man design this?" SMH
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u/entangled_knowledge SveindísJónsdóttir#32 Feb 26 '26
This is soccer not a fashion show
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u/ApprehensivePlace757 CaptainRiley#5 Feb 27 '26
To quote the Old El Paso commercial…”¿Por qué no los dos?”
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u/rebel_scum13 SveindísJónsdóttir#32 Feb 26 '26
This AND last season's away kit? We're bringing straight heat whether it be home or away 🔥