Popular kits come and go each and every season, but some designs break out and reach a higher status. Be it through celebrity endorsement, an infamous incident on the pitch or the capturing of a cultural zeitgeist, particular kits can inspire a cult around themselves.
In this new series I’ll be taking a look back at these shirts which left significant impressions on our collective consciousness. We start with a certain pink design which can be identified simply with the name of a certain Canadian rapper.
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Juventus’ relationship with the colour pink
Italian giants Juventus have a longstanding association with the colour pink. After starting out life in 1897 with white shirts paired with black shorts and socks, the team adopted the unusual choice of pink shirts a couple of years later. The story goes that pink was chosen because the fabric shop which club members visited had an excess supply of the colour which they needed to get rid of.
Regardless of the reason, Juventus continued to wear pink shirts until a further switch to the synonymous black and white stripes in 1903 on account of Notts County (that’s a story for another time). Though pink would never feature again as the primary colour of a Juve home shirt, the colour was used for several goalkeeper and alternate kits.
Across these pink designs one particular away shirt stands tall as the most famous: the 2015 away.
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adidas make a splash with Juve
adidas took over from Nike as Juventus’ official kit partner in 2015 after the latter’s 12 year stint in Turin. Across those 12 years Nike served up two predominantly pink aways, one in 2003/04 and another in 2011/12 which was retained the following year with a sponsor change (a pink/navy third kit was also used in 2004/05). Though just a few years out from the previous pink effort, adidas returned to the playbook for their debut away shirt in 2015/16.
Despite Juve’s own history and their recent usage of pink away kits, the impact of the choice was still felt. Helping to cement the legacy of the shirt was the performances of Juventus on the pitch, and the club continued to build their dynasty capturing their 5th of 9 straight Serie A titles. The team would go on to complete a domestic treble. Emblematic of their success in 2015/16 was Paul Pogba, who made the switch to the storied #10 for the season on route to a string of personal accolades and a £89.3 million transfer to Manchester United the following summer.
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How the 2015 Juventus away became the Drake kit
Though the Juventus away would reach meteoric levels of fame following the conclusion of the 2015/16 season, interest around the kit would initially be more muted. There were some early adopters, including Awful Record’s rapper Father who was pictured wearing the shirt in September 2015, but the shirt split opinion at the time of its release amongst the kit collecting community, interestingly featuring in both Footy Headlines “worst” and “best” kits of 2015/16 lists.
Momentum began to build as the months went on though, and shortly after Juventus wrapped up their trophy-laden season Drake posted a series of pictures of himself wearing the pink jersey. The design, which pleasingly complemented the pink-tinted shades and champagne glass in the background of the hero image, looked unusual at first glance on account of the absent adidas logo. The omission was very much by design though with Drake having a longstanding relationship with rivals Nike, a relationship which has continued through to today.
The endorsement in front of Drake’s 23.6M strong audience at the time immediately changed the trajectory of the kit. Just two months later the rapper’s collection would be bolstered by none other than Paul Pogba, who gifted both the 2015/16 home and third shirts to help complete the set.
Further recognition of the shirt was given by actor Jonah Hill, who was spotted in California in November 2016 wearing the 15/16 Juventus away with Paul Pogba printing. American rapper Lil Peep opted for an unofficial version of the shirt during a performance, with the fit being so popular that clothing brand ALIEN BODY would go to release a commemorative bootleg style Juve shirt with “Peep” replacing the “Jeep” sponsor, amongst other differences.
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An icon of the 2010s
As the 2010s wrapped up the 2015/16 Juventus away would find itself on several “best kits of the decade lists”. Rubber stamping the kit’s legacy was the adidas x Pharrell Humanrace collection in 2020, which saw reimagined versions of classic adidas kits for the brand’s top teams. Alongside tributes to the bruised banana and the Manchester United “snowflake” shirt of 1990 was a fresh take on the pink 2015 Juve kit.
The OG remains a sought after piece for collectors and one of the benchmarks for popular success of a football kit. Though the rise of the shirt was not solely down to Drake, his approval took things to another level.
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