Adidas, Puma & Other Brands Copy Nike Kit Templates

May 19, 2019

by Chris

All brands are releasing their new kits for 2019-2020 currently. However, while many feature bespoke designs, kit experts noted that some brands got inspired by Nike's jersey templates.

Nike introduced their first modern, "all-new" futuristic kit template in 2016 ahead of the Euro 2016, the Nike Aeroswift kit. (It was possibly the worst time for football kits as all of them looked nearly identical...) The updated, next-gen version of the template was released in 2018, called Nike Fast Fit Vaporknit. With it, Nike reintroduced more unique designs and styles for elements such as collars / sleeve cuffs.

Puma

The biggest brand that is most obvious copying Nike's kit style is definitively Puma. The German brand more or less directly copied the collar / back panel construction of the Swoosh from 2018 for their 2019-2020 kits

The front of Puma's 2019-2020 kits reminds us of Nike's Euro 2016 jerseys.

Adidas

Adidas was used to have an own style for their kits featuring many details that made them unique. Nowadays, most Adidas kits feature a more simplistic approach - if the the Manchester United 2019-20 home kit would have a Swoosh it would look like a Nike kit.

However, it has to be said that Adidas is not copying Nike directly, in opposite to Puma. In fact, the brand is set to release a very interesting template for their best teams for the 2019-2020 season - featuring a unique cut and seams.