One of the most visually exciting teams out there, Forward Madison FC are at it again, releasing one of the most attention-grabbing shirts in the game. This is the Forward Madison fully reversible ‘Beach/Club’ Alternate Jersey, and you need this in your life.
Since their debut in 2019, Forward Madison have marked themselves out as one of the best dressed teams in world football, boasting some of the wildest designs out there. Now, pushing the boundaries of their designs to the limit, the club have revealed the ‘Beach/Club’ alternate jersey, which features two completely unique patterns for what is perhaps the Flamingos’ most ambitious release to date. And they didn’t just reveal it in a conventional way either. No, instead they did it in their game against Greenville Triumph SC, wearing the Club side in the first half before switching to the Beach side for the second half.
Created by Cassidy Sepnieski, the team’s art director, the jersey is completely unique. “We had two really solid designs that we wanted to use, so the natural conclusion was to put them together,” Sepnieski said. “With the hot pink, we wanted to bring our look and identity into more of a streetwear type of realm. The beach side was born out of vignettes of summertime in Madison.”
The ‘Beach’ side of the kit features hand-drawn art of the Madison skyline, along with multiple pink flamingos balancing on soccer balls and smaller navy flamingos. The ‘Club’ side features a pattern of hot pink flamingos overlaid on a slick black background, paying homage to a design that is foundational to the club.
The Beach/Club Kit is fashioned out of single-weight, single-layer fabric made possible by Forward Madison’s athletic wear supplier, Hummel. As with all FMFC jerseys, this one features the logo of Dairyland Insurance on the front and Just Coffee Cooperative on the sleeve.
"The USL actually reviewed the Laws of the Game, because that was their first concern,” Madison CEO Conor Caloia explained. “I don’t know if I was surprised that there wasn’t [a rule against it]. Maybe this has happened once before. I know teams have changed at halftime before because there were colour issues.”
In fact, Wednesday’s debut represented the first time that an American professional soccer club had used a reversible kit in an official match. Opponents Greenville were award of the idea, as was the USL, who had approved the design. Despite the stunning look and halftime switch up, it was not enough to earn Madison the win, with the game ending 2-2. Still, who cares when you look that sharp.
Forward Madison’s new alternate jersey is now available for purchase on the team’s web store.
