The early-to-mid-1990s was a time of huge transition in football kits, as demonstrated by these Bourne Sports catalogue pages from 1993.
Kappa had recently taken over from Meyba in supplying FC Barcelona, and whilst the Athletic Bilbao and Juventus shirts had an understated and relatively timeless quality, there was a lot more embellishment on the Catalan club’s designs.
Equally, adidas’s Trefoil had departed, and along with the “EQUIPMENT” logo - later “Performance” - came very bold and, arguably, obtrusive stylings - the Rangers and Arsenal training and bench items being cases in point.
In fact, the few designs which retained adidas’s previous logo seem to stand the test of time. The same can’t be said for the Lotto boots - stuck between an age of minimalism and subtlety and the brash embellishment of today’s ranges - but the (AC) Milan apparel, with 2020’s hindsight, is a fantasyland.
Puma don’t necessarily cover themselves in glory - rather, their kits were covered in “Puma KING” branding - but getting Sheffield Wednesday’s Chris Waddle to tuck his shirt in for the shoot was no mean feat!
Thanks to Greg Lansdowne - @Panini_book on Twitter - for bringing these pages to our attention.
