AC Milan are having a difficult time carrying the weight of the ‘defending champions of Italy’ tag. After having an amazing campaign last season which saw them lift their first Scudetto in a decade, things have cascaded downwards for Stefano Pioli’s men.
They aren’t even close to the Serie A title this season, being 18 points behind runaway league leaders Napoli. It seems that the most which the Rossoneri can hope for is a top-3 finish and going further into the Champions League knockout rounds.
Milan are currently seated in fourth place and three points behind second-place Inter Milan. With that being said, they’re also just two points off falling into fifth place and can’t afford to go dropping points as consistently as they did in the first half of the season – resulting in falling so far behind the title race.
Amidst a recent uptick in form, having won their last three games – which includes a gritty 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at San Siro in the Champions League – it seems that Milan and their kit manufacturers Puma want to cash in on this momentum with a new kit.
Indeed, the Rossoneri recently released a new 4th kit, a special edition for this campaign.
Puma collaborated with Paris-based fashion brand Koche to make this new kit.
There is a reason behind the kit being released at this odd part of the season, the club wants to advertise their own wear at the Milan Fashion Week on February 25.
The kit keeps the traditional colours of red and black along with golden shorts.
Here is what the club had to say to explain the unique design –
The jersey integrates a game-ready pixilated interpretation of the iconic red and black stripes of AC Milan.
The new Rossonero reality is reinterpreted in digital 8-bit glory with AC Milan, PUMA, and Paris-based label KOCHÉ.
This season, the three brands combine club heritage with performance tech and street-inspired couture for a match-ready collection that is both football and fashion-forward.
This fourth kit pays homage to early digital pop culture and the nostalgic games of which the 90s kids should be well aware.
While the upper body of the kit is mostly covered in black, there is a unique pattern of red and black which almost makes it seem like a deck of cards are being flushed out towards the end.
Some fans have noticed that this might be paying homage to the iconic card game Solitaire – which was a sample game included in Windows 98.
A more up and close look at the kit shows how intricate the 8-bit patterns really are – making it seem like some of the designs that were in the 8-bit Pacman games of old.
Puma and Koche have also seemingly released an alternate rendition of this 4th kit, a golden-coloured version with the same pattern as the original red and black.
The price of this specialized kit is actually almost the same as their current ones. It is a bit of a specialized kit – so Puma has placed a heavy price to own one. As per Milan’s online store, the kit will sell for €95 for both Men and Women. The golden version, however, isn’t available online.
The 2022/23 home kit (replica version) sells for €93.50 on the online store, so the 4th kit edition is just a bit more expensive. Considering that fans have fallen in love with this brilliant new kit, one can expect it to sell like hotcakes and be a hit in the Milan Fashion week too!
