Ahead of the Women’s Euros 2025, Adidas has launched eight new away kits, with vibrant colours and bold patterns being the key theme. According to the brand, the shirts are inspired by “the artistic culture and heritage each nation is known for, to create expressive, modern-day looks.” But how well have they done with this? Today I’ll be breaking them down to decide which is best.
8th Place: Wales
Sorry Wales, but someone has to come last. Whilst this kit is by no means unattractive, it’s a bit boring compared to the other releases. Based on a Welsh love spoon, the background pattern – whilst pleasant to the eye – doesn’t stand out, leaving me feeling a little underwhelmed.
7th Place: Germany
Designed to pay homage to the graffiti work popular across German cities, the kit has a modern and unique design. It’s great to see the use of colours and texture in ways we rarely see on a football shirt, and the kit feels fresh in line with the street art it represents. Its flaw comes in that it is perhaps a little polarising – I wouldn’t be surprised to see the kit divide opinions due to its striking look.
6th Place: Belgium
This Belgian design is on par with the German shirt in my opinion. It is inspired by geometric art and design from the 1920s, which is reflected in the sharp shapes on the jersey, but in all honestly, I think it could be more pronounced. Whilst not being the boldest with its use of shape, it is particularly colourful, with the bright yellow borrowed from the flag and the purple offering a stylish contrast. Overall, the kit is a solid selection from the lineup.
5th Place: Italy
Another green shirt. Here the colour is related to the flag and natural greenery, supposedly inspired by the Realism and Naturalism movements. The kit’s downfall is that it isn’t actually inspired by Italian artworks of the past; instead, it takes inspiration from where these works were produced. You can’t help but think the design is pretty clean, however, with the green tones harmonising in a very pleasing manner.
4th Place: Spain
Coming in fourth is the Spanish kit, which takes inspiration from the Cubism movement so famously connected to artists such as Pablo Picasso. The shirt takes the abstract geometric forms associated with the movement and layers them over the white canvas, like an artist creating their next masterpiece. Indeed, the kit is stylish in a way that is truly connected to its country – a fantastic design for the great footballing nation.
3rd Place: Scotland
As a Scotsman and football shirt collector myself, I can tell you two things for certain. Yes, I plan on picking this kit up, and yes, it is pure bias that this kit beats Spain. Inspired by the previous Rosebery kits which were worn in the late 1800s and early 1900s (including when Scotland beat England 6-1, their best-ever result in the fixture), the kit melts the old into the new with the same vibrant look. Whilst you could confuse it for a goalkeeper top, it is bold and certainly unique, and I honestly love it.
2nd Place: Northern Ireland
What a polished football shirt. The kit features a bold intertwining line texture inspired by ‘The Dark Hedges’ in County Antrim. The organic design relates to the natural beauty of the country, with the greens and browns giving a nod to the Irish flag. This, Ladies and Gentleman, is how you design a kit.
1st place: Sweden
Sweden wins it for me. While a little simplistic and not quite as same bold look as the others, you can’t deny that the design – which is influenced by abstract expressionism – isn’t gorgeous. With Hilma af Klint being a pioneer for women in art, it’s great to see a design inspired by her work featured on the kit. The shirt symbolises female empowerment through a perfectly unique and aesthetically pleasing design.
Hi, I’m Neil Singer, Culture Editor and second year student, studying media and journalism, and social policy. In my spare time I play for Strathclyde Lacrosse and watch a lot of films. If your reading this then that probably means you’ve looked at my article, so thankyou! You must be one very cool individual.
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