Evoking the spirit of Māori legend, Nike have launched the 2018 New Zealand home and away kits with a clean and character-heavy set of designs that champion style and substance.
In Māori legend the silver fern of New Zealand represents strength, resistance and power. It's a symbol that brings this nation together and something that celebrates a collective feeling of unity. Describing the inspiration and stand out feature for the shirt, Nike Football Apparel Senior Design Director, Pete Hoppins explains, "People in New Zealand rally behind the silver fern. While it has been the primary symbol for New Zealand football for some time, we decided to integrate the frond more completely into the national team collection for 2018."
Through a clean and accurate graphic of the leaf, the design is almost photo realistic and ultimately breaks away from other interpretations of the silver fern that the national team has used in the past. One leaf on each sleeve creates a clean and modern aesthetic. The national team collection also includes a pre-match top, which is a red-on-red design with a full-bleed speed blur, and red training apparel (a reference to the stars of the Southern Cross on the New Zealand flag) that breaks from the traditional black, white and silver colours of the past.
Pick up the 2018 New Zealand Home & Away shirts from prodirectsoccer.com
