St. Louis City SC announced the clubs’ newest look Friday morning to what can be described as a mixed reaction from fans. The “Forever City Red”kit is one of thirty two new designs released as Major League Soccer teams get their annual refresh through their partnership with Adidas. Since everyone else is sounding off about the new look; I thought I’d give my verdict now that the initial storm has passed.
But first, I’d like to preface this by saying that it’s ok to disagree. I’m not here to persuade you to like or even buy the new kit. It won’t be for everyone; no jersey will be. With that out of the way, here we go.
The Collar Conversation
I am, historically, not a fan of a collars on a kit. I have never been able to get away from thinking a collar on a kit makes it look like a polo or a golf shirt with extra ads on it. However, in talking with St. Louis City Chief Experience Officer Matt Sebek on Friday, the point was well taken that some of Europe’s top clubs have a collar such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have featured a predominant collar. Heck, even my favorite European club, Manchester United, had had collars at times. That alone, didn’t really change my mind; however the fact that we’re one of only two MLS clubs with this style did. It’s a unique feature that sets us apart from almost every other franchise. Sure, it’s not a full collar; its funky, but again I think it makes it special. So while I still don’t dig collars and I don’t want it to become a permanent feature; I’m onboard with it for the next two seasons.
The design: Is It Too Plain?
This has almost been a more contentious topic than the collar. Fans across social media platforms, including myself at times; cried out for more color to be used after the initial leak of the kit. The new look, is truly an “all in” on the City red color with maroon accents. My initial opinion was that I was going to miss the other club colors: River Blue and Electric Yellow especially. However, after discussing the design with St. Louis City Vice President of Marketing Peter Wood; I have done a 180. If you think about some of the most historic clubs in the world who have an established brand, you know what to expect with their kits. Real Madrid will always be white, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United will feature their various shades of red and it’s that concept that St. Louis is shooting for. This is only the second home kit for the club, which is the only team in the world that Adidas uses this shade of red for. Committing to this as hard as they did is risky but it makes sense. Expect this to be something to watch as the kit cycle comes around again after the 2026 season.
Beyond the color choice, fans have given a mixed reaction to the other design element: five subtle stripes which pay homage to the five St. Louis born players who were a part of a 1950 World Cup upset of England by the U.S. national team. The embossed stripes, described by Sebek as being “seared into the fabric” are meant to be lasting; forever tying the history to the present. Could they have made those more prominent? Yes. Should they have? I would have probably been inclined to say yes. But in talking further with Wood yesterday, I have come to agree that having them be a completely different color would be jarring and become the focus of the kit; which contradicts what the club was going for. I think the nod to the past in this subtle way serves a meaningful purpose and adds meaning to the shirt.
Lastly, I want to mention the other detail that I really love on this shirt. The graphic on the back of the neckline. I was ecstatic to see this space now being utilized and to use it to show off our secondary crest (which I prefer to the primary we use now) makes an even bigger bright spot for me.
My Verdict:
Is it my favorite kit of all time? No. Is bad enough that I’d scream “kill it with fire”? Also, no. However, I don’t think it’s as far off the mark as many on social media have made it out to be. For me, I’d probably rate it a 7.5 out of 10. I do still miss the pops of our other club colors, but I do appreciate the simplicity and message the shirt sends. Not to mention it shows off our secondary crest too.
It’s far from the best kit in this cycle; that honor goes to Charlotte FC for me. But it’s also miles off the worst; here’s looking at you FC Dallas and San Diego. I’ll share my rankings for all kits released in this cycle below.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with me in the comments here or find me on X or Bluesky.
Taking his passion for soccer and St. Louis to the next level, Jeremy aims to provide analytical coverage of all this St. Louis City SC.
