More and more teams in Serie A are releasing kits jerseys

On Sunday, Milan will take to the field against Napoli wearing the just-released jerseys created in collaboration with PUMA and Pleasures. The Californian streetwear brand is the new partner of the Rossoneri after previous collaborations with NemeN and Koché. Milan has chosen to create a fourth jersey to highlight the strong connection between the city and fashion, a trend increasingly dominant in recent seasons. These collaborations can be with fashion or lifestyle brands, or born from the desire to celebrate an anniversary or a special place in the club's history, or simply for the sake of novelty in the second part of the season: fourth jerseys have become a certainty in a football team's release calendar. In Serie A, what started as a trend among the top clubs in our football has now become endemic and mainly concerns smaller clubs, which can rely on more flexibility and availability from their kit suppliers.

While the more renowned clubs with hefty technical sponsorship contracts seem less interested in releasing such a high number of jerseys, sticking to the three kits necessary for the entire season, fourth jerseys have become a matter for the rest of the Serie A teams. So, while Inter and Juventus haven't produced one for the past two seasons, close to Christmas, Atalanta appeared on the field with their customary Christmas edition. Similarly, Fiorentina wore the jersey created in collaboration with Polimoda students, along with a capsule collection defined by a mix of different shades of red. On the other hand, Verona celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the Marcantonio Bentegodi with a special jersey during the home game against Lazio.

Adding to the list is Frosinone, coached by Di Francesco, who presented their fourth kit by Zeus in December with a Joga Bonito-style video, later worn in the league match against Juventus. In Campania, Salernitana played the Campania derby against Napoli wearing a white fourth jersey with pink details, loosely inspired by the Arechi Castle, one of the city's symbols. During the same game, Napoli debuted their Halloween jersey, another variation of the fourth kit, this time tied to the holiday, one of the many occasions the Neapolitan club has used to create new jerseys. While De Laurentiis has turned multiplying his team's jersey releases into an art form in recent years, also bolstered by a partnership with EA7, many other clubs have followed his example.

In the 2022/23 season, 14 Serie A teams produced a fourth jersey, using various names or definitions, and the trend seems to continue in the current season as well. In a historical period where rightly even in the football world the emphasis on the sustainability of the entire production chain is becoming central, the production of such a number of kits can become a problem. For example, the Premier League, perhaps the most attentive league in this regard, has drastically reduced the number of fourth jerseys in recent seasons, as in the 2022/23 season only Arsenal, for the No More Red initiative, and Newcastle United surpassed the three-kit limit, while in the current season, only Crystal Palace has presented a special jersey so far. We will see if the Premier League will set an example in this field or if Italian teams will continue to produce new jerseys.