Whether you know it or not, Kappa has been killing it with its shirt releases for the 2019/20 season, and nowhere is that more apparent than with its Monaco shirts. And that trend continues with the recently released Monaco third shirt, which sees the same simple sublimated two tone diamond motif that was used on the home and away shirts once again spread across the body, this time in colours that are reminiscent of the Mediterranean.
Set to be worn for the first time in the team’s match away against Metz this weekend, the Monaco 2019/20 third shirt was unveiled exclusively in a video announcing the transfer of Henry Onyekuru from Everton. The lighter blue base that’s inspired by the Mediterranean is accented by navy detailing through the sponsor, branding, club crest, and, in a move that we whole-heartedly approve of, on the ‘Kappa Banda’ running down the sides.
The kit is completed by inverting the navy and sky blue on the shorts, with the ‘Kappa Banda’ continuing down their sides. Simple, stylish and so effective. Name another brand that could get away with repeating their logo so many times without it appearing just plain crass. But with the Italian brand it’s unapologetic and just so good, bringing back memories of kits from the turn of the century.
Kappa and Monaco have rekindled their relationship ahead of the 2019/20 season after a break of 18 years – a move we’d never condone under other circumstances – but if initial signs are anything to go by, it’s stronger than ever. The home shirt was the first to drop, with a reinvention of the classic diagonal design that’s synonymous with the club, while the away shirt featured gold detailing on a black base, executed to near perfection, particularly on the 'Kappa Banda', which, as with the third shirt, ran down the sides and on to the shorts. Running throughout all three shirts and tying them together in a continuing theme is the sublimated diamond pattern, which is inspired by the Principality’s coat of arms.
While the Kappa Monaco shirts face some fairly stiff competition for the best shirt of the 2019/20 season, it’s safe to say that there aren’t many better shorts out there. Kappa has not been in the limelight for a prolonged period, but it’s never truly gone away, continuing and refining, to the point where they now exist in a position away from the mainstream as something of an alternative, and with designs like this it serves to make the brand even more appealing.
Delicious.
