Raheem Sterling has expressed his excitement after donning England’s new home and away Vapor kits ahead of the this summer’s Euros in France.
Players from across the England men’s, women’s, disability and development squads got together to try out the new Nike outfits, with their predominantly white and red themes blending symbols of the nation’s football history.
Sterling has hailed Nike’s cutting-edge Aeroswift innovation that assists on-pitch focus by reducing distractions.
“The kit feels light and fits nicely. It’s always an honour to put on an England shirt but this one makes you really feel fast and speed is a massive thing in football,” he said.
England’s revolutionary Nike Vapor kits are 10% lighter, boast 50% more stretch, wick sweat 20% quicker and dry 25% faster than Nike’s most recent football kits.
The new home kit features a classic white English body with a contrasting light blue shoulder and sleeve produced by cross-dyeing white with the blue used elsewhere in the kit. On the chest, engineered knit zones create a geometric pattern that enhances fit, with smaller mesh shapes at the bottom of the shirt providing extra cooling.
Odes to national pride appear on both the interior and exterior of the jersey. The HD silicon federation crest is heat printed to the chest and “England” is knitted into the back collar. “Three” and “Lions” adorn the inside cuffs while the reverse of the crest reveals a white rose graphic, referencing the symbol that was embroidered on to early England caps in the 19th century.
Nike creative director Martin Lotti said: “For both kits we set out with the goal of bringing together the colours that are synonymous with English football: white, red and blue – flashes of contrast are used to illustrate innovative details such as the cross-dyed knitted sleeves and the ventilation-enhancing stripe on the sides of the shirts and shorts.”
The sides of the kit have a blue stripe that runs the length of the shirt and matching shorts. Expanding when the player is in motion, it maximizes ventilation and reveals subtle tones of underlying red. Bright red socks, featuring a linear blue graphic on the calf, celebrate the look of the English team that famously triumphed over Brazil at the Maracana in 1984 and bring a dynamic spark of contrast to the head-to-toe look.
Honouring the 50th anniversary of England’s 1966 World Cup victory at Wembley, the team’s new away kit integrates the very same performance innovations and design details as the home kit, but in the team’s World Cup-winning red.
Lotti added: “England have had great moments in red over the years – one in particular – and our design team have risen to the challenge of integrating references to England’s footballing history with a future-forward system of performance apparel.”
The jersey’s red body is offset by a textured purple effect across the shoulder and sleeve achieved by cross-dyeing red with the blue used elsewhere in the kit – in the ventilation stripe that runs down the flanks of the red shirt and shorts, and in the dominant block of contrasting colour that makes up the new away socks.
As in the home kit, Nike brings together innovation and pride. The geometric knitted layout construction of the chest is in place to provide an athletic fit, while the knitted detailing on the inside cuffs (“Three” and “Lions”) and back of neck (“England”) is complemented by the rose motif in red on the reverse of the crest.
While these new kits serve to inspire national pride, it has also been created to give players the very latest in Nike’s innovations encompassing fabric construction, performance technology, moisture management and environmental sustainability.
The 2016 England home and away kits will be available from www.englandstore.com and in stores from Thursday 24 March.
