Kits are obviously a major part of a football club’s identity but for Newcastle United and its supporters, it’s deeper. It’s part of our soul.
In fact, I’d argue it’s deeper at any club with stripes or hoops as part of their shirt lore.
That’s why the 2026-27 Newcastle United home shirt is so polarising. We discussed it in Part 1 of this series.
As for the navy away strip, it’s gone over much better with the Toon Army. Yet, not without a few talking points. We went over those in Part 2.
Which brings us to this season’s third strip.
The final interpretation of what Newcastle United is.
Going solely based on this kit after following up the first two, the club has an identity crisis.
And all topped by the unveiling on Thursday, October 1, of the club’s new crest.
So about that 2026-27 Newcastle United third strip…
3rd STRIP: The Pyjamas
Image: Dave Marshall (AI Generated)
Fresh Lilac. Powder Plum. Or simply just lavender.
Upon first glance, I thought it was pink, not lavender.
Whatever you want to call the colour, the shirt looks like a pyjama top. Together with the like-coloured shorts, it’s a pair of PJs.
Anyway, on top of the colour, it’s boring. Plain. Stale as week-old beer.
Just lavender with dark purple accents and a monochrome crest.
Which is why when paired with the alternate dark purple shorts, it’s a much better look.
Still… lavender? For Newcastle United…?
According to the club press release at launch, it’s a…
“fashion-forward, lifestyle-led expansion of the club’s global merchandise footprint”
aimed at:
“modern streetwear markets and younger global demographics.”
So… not a word about Newcastle.
Not a nod to the city, the river, the ground, the history, native flowers or animals, etc.
Nothing Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Not even a made-up story about how the seahorses… er, hippocampi… look a certain shade of “lilac in the sun-splashed waters of their mythical tropical paradise…”
Nope.
There’s a not-too-hard-to-believe rumour that the lavender pays tribute to Riyadh Air.
Which is owned by PIF. Who also own…
But I digress.
Anyway, they tell us it’s lavender because the colour’s trending in fashion circles somewhere around the world.
So now we’re a brand with a “global merchandise footprint” that seemingly must be measured in kit designs or colours that are a hit worldwide…
No matter how reviled at home.
Even worse? Despite the Riyadh Air rumours…
This pastel trend is so obvious. It’s not unique to us.
Pretty in Pink. Or Lovely in Lavender.
Image: Dave Marshall (AI Generated)
For the past several seasons, clubs all over the world have been kitted out in pinks, lavenders, and other such washed-out pastels.
Seems it’s popular these days for change strips, whether 3rd or Away, to look like something off an ice cream dessert menu.
But at least for Inter Miami, pink traditionally for their home shirt pays homage to pink being one of the de facto official colours of their home city.
Same with Juventus.
Image: Dave Marshall (AI Generated)
Take a closer look. Juve’s away strip for ‘26-’27 is pretty much identical to our ‘26-’27 3rd shirt, just a few shades more red.
But pink and Juventus have a long history.
This pastel trend goes even a couple years back. In ‘22-’23, Arsenal wore pink away strips that don’t look too different from our lavender ones.
Still, though… At least Arsenal’s pink was a nod to the background colour in their club crests from the late 1900s.
Our lavender? A nod to some “stylish” street urchin in Singapore or Dubai with matching Jordans.
Or an airline barely three years old.
So… what about lavender strips elsewhere?
Glad you asked.
For ‘26-’27, Olympic Marseille have a lavender 3rd top.
Image: Dave Marshall (AI Generated)
It’s a darker shade of the colour, which is at least a little better than our washed-out version.
But again… it’s got a credible story:
A scenic tribute to the lavender fields and Mediterranean sunset of Provence, the region in which Marseille is found.
AFC Bournemouth ‘26-’27 away strip also has a lavender base.
Just as with Arsenal, I won’t deface The Mag or disrespect you or injure your eyes by posting a likeness of a league rival shirt…
But it’s covered by a geometric zig-zag pattern that makes you dizzy if you stare too long.
Again, though… there’s a reason for this shirt design: it’s a modern reboot of the club’s iconic away shirt worn from the early 1990s.
This pastel pink/lavender trend has even spilled into national teams, as seen in South Korea’s ‘26-’27 away swirled mess of lavender…
Image: Dave Marshall (AI Generated)
Which, of course, has a story:
The tonal graphic symbolises the traditional peony flowers throughout the country.
So… lavender kits with club/team connections v. lavender kits just to be part of a trend.
Make no mistake. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being trendy.
Credit: Newcastle United FC
But Newcastle United strips should ALWAYS be connected to the city or club or have a story that describes it.
This lavender strip does not feature a single redeeming local detail.
It’s a design for “fans” whose entire relationship with United is a hashtag.
I mean, couldn’t have someone from adidas or the NUFC creative team walked around the city or region…
And at least found some light lavender flowers or something to create a story around?
You know… a “colour of the mist rising from the Tyne several minutes after another glorious sunset” kind of thing…
3rd Strip Verdict: 2.5
I’ll admit I’m not a fan of lavender or pink or any other pastel for a club strip. Especially teams I back, very much including Newcastle United.
But I can understand it if there’s a legitimate connection to anything Newcastle…
However, choosing a trendy colour with no link to the region or history just to appease some alleged appetite elsewhere for pastels…?
That’s disappointing.
No matter where we sit in world football, we should be better at kits.
Our home strip is arguably the most instantly recognisable in England.
The city itself has more usable design material than most: the crest, the castle, the bridge, the river, magpies, shipyards, native flora, the lot.
Our shirts should reflect that, not try to appeal to far-flung corners of the globe.
This is not Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, or God forbid, London.
It’s Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
As supporters of United through thick and thin, with 50,000+ turning up even when in the Championship…
We’ve earned the right to have better kits from our club. Something for us.
Yes, maybe our navy away kit does that.
And yes, at least the home shirt still has the semblance of black and white stripes.
Credit: Newcastle United FC
But this 3rd strip? No way.
It’s a product category… something designed not for us as Toon supporters…
But for some global marketing initiative. And nothing else.
Don’t get me wrong, though.
3rd shirts are for experimenting. There’s some wild designs out there right now… Really cool shirts across the world.
But, for us, there should ALWAYS be a connection to Newcastle.
The city, the club, the region, the history, a landmark…
Newcastle United are not a template. Nor is the city Milan or wherever wives of ex-Toon players deem “fashionable”.
It’s a unique club in a special city packed with a ride-or-die fanbase who have a well-known and -respected reputation.
Thus, we as supporters have earned better. Doesn’t always have to be legendary or iconic.
And definitely never a fashion sensation that appeals to the urban youth in the back alleys of Tokyo, Sydney, or Nairobi.
Instead, it’s simple. And it should be obvious:
Any and all Newcastle United kits must be relevant to the club, the city, the history, the people, the region, etc.
*A Part 4 is forthcoming…
NOTE:
1 – Renderings above generated with AI via the author’s imagination and instructions.
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Ep 9: Newcastle United’s new badge, Quantum leaps and Changing history
Listen to the latest episode of The Mag Pod! Join Jamie, Simon, and Hutch for their quality unfiltered Newcastle United debate.
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