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Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer
Perhaps fitting for a club of their stylish grandeur, USMNT star Christian Pulisic helped unveil AC Milan‘s new fourth kit for the 2023-24 season that comes in two different shades and brings a dash of artistic conceptualism to football shirt design.
Indeed, Milan have joined forces with Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Pleasures to create not one, but two versions of an achingly cool alternative strip that blends cultural elements of the two cities. Available in contrasting dark and inverted light colourways, the two-pronged kit is intended to symbolise the transition from dusk to dawn.
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The music scene inspires the twin designs in Los Angeles; specifically the punk, metal and grunge in which Pleasures regularly dabble. Meanwhile, the pattern and trim are intended as an ode to Milan’s intricate gothic architecture.
Out of the shadows 🌗
Introducing the #ACMilan X @pumafootball X 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 Fourth Kits pic.twitter.com/M6NyQzjS9F
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 8, 2024
The dusky “black” shirt features a dark base with ornate grey detailing in the form of an all-over pattern inspired by the archways, windows and decorative flourishes of Milan’s gothic cathedrals and basilicas, such as the Duomo di Milano. The beige “pristine” shirt features the same patterns overlaid in a lighter, sandy colour.
By creating two distinct versions of the same fourth kit, Milan will also have the option to chop and change between them, so both the outfield players and goalkeeper can wear either strip in any given game should the situation call for it.
As such, the Rossoneri are planning to wear both the dark and the pristine editions of their new kit in separate upcoming games — first at home against Napoli on Feb. 11, when the outfield players will don the black version and the ‘keeper will wear the light version, and then away against Monza on Feb. 18, when the polarity of the uniforms will be reversed.