With the 2023 Rugby World Cup just around the corner, the All Blacks have unveiled their new jersey in collaboration with global sportswear brand Adidas and French underground designer, Fey the Wolf.
New Zealand’s iconic national rugby team has revealed a new jersey filled with ergonomic technology, to be worn at the Rugby World Cup which kicks off in September.
While the All Blacks have had many variations on the black jersey over their history, their new kit is said to be “packed with leading technical innovations” that will enable the national players to perform at the “highest level”.
Not only do the innovations make this jersey different, what makes the kit truly unique is the collaboration with French underground designer Fey the Wolf.
Known as an emerging Parisian-based street-style designer who is famous for his creative use of the colour black, Fey the Wolf working on the latest All Blacks kit was a no brainer.
He, alongside the adidas design team and current All Blacks players were able to create a kit that centred around famous iconography, the silver fern which holds a deep meaning to Kiwis and the Māori community who see it as a symbol of strength, resilience and enduring power.
Read more: NZ Rugby and adidas launch new All Blacks and Black Ferns jersey
“Central to my approach was to encapsulate what the fern means to New Zealanders of all backgrounds and to help, I was lucky enough to spend time with members of the squad, which provided valuable insight,” says Fey the Wolf.
“What stood out to me most, is the sense of guardianship. That the jersey is never owned but passed on to create a continuous line. This was a true jumping-off point when starting the creative process – and the responsibility I too carry.”
The jersey’s silver fern emblem will be made up of 14 differently-sized ferns, signifying the diversity and differing experience of the squad, while the crest will act as the 15th fern and will complete the emblem, each facing inwards to create the ‘USO’ mark, the Samoan term meaning brother in honour of the bond between the All Blacks.
Fey adds that his was heavily inspired by the old jerseys that the All Blacks wore.
“I had this idea to do the one-stroke fern to symbolise unity,” he says.
Not only did Fey take on the design process, he also worked alongside current team members to ask them what they liked about the jerseys they will be wearing.
“I was able to hear their mind on their different jersey’s on what they like, what they don’t like and to give me some direction,” he adds.
“I realised we have some similarities about unity.”
All Blacks legend Dan Carter and current halfback for the team, Aaron Smith, are among the panel members who helped design the new kit.
“The jersey is so important, not only to us as players, but to all New Zealanders around the world – so to have the opportunity to talk through what the jersey and the fern means to us as a nation with Fey The Wolf, and be a part of that creative process, was a really unique experience,” says Smith.
