Anfield’s New Away Strip Is a Love Letter to the 1980s
Our first reaction to Liverpool’s 2026/27 away kit wasn’t about the football. It was about the vault Adidas raided to make it. The white base, trimmed in red and grey, lifts straight from the club’s mid-1980s wardrobe, back when the trophy cabinet needed regular topping up. That’s a deliberate bet, and a smart one. Clubs aren’t just selling a shirt for ninety minutes on a Saturday, they’re selling identity supporters can wear on a Tuesday at the supermarket.
The launch itself, staged during Liverpool’s pre-season swing through the United States, leaned into that pitch hard. Ryan Gravenberch, Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Mia Enderby and Grace Fisk were all wheeled out to model it, and the Trefoil badge sits again next to the Liver bird for the first time in years. That combination alone will do most of the selling job.
It isn’t pure nostalgia dressed up for the till, either. Adidas have built in CLIMACOOL+ fabric for better airflow, so there’s a genuine performance case underneath the retro branding, something that feels like a museum piece off the pitch but plays like 2026 kit on it.
The Finer Details
Red shorts and white socks round out the outfield look, tidy rather than showy, while the goalkeeper strip goes the other way entirely, black and purple with white trim, far bolder than anything the outfield players wear. We like that contrast, giving the keepers their own identity rather than treating the goalkeeper kit as an afterthought.
Supporters technically saw this coming. Calvin Harris let the design slip during a live set in Ibiza, so the unveiling in the US was really confirmation of something half the fanbase had already screenshotted. That doesn’t dull the impact much, and it suits a club juggling retail plans, pre-season fitness work and transfer speculation this time of year.
First Outing Against Wrexham
The shirt gets its competitive debut against Wrexham at Yankee Stadium, kicking off at 12:30am BST on Thursday, an odd hour for anyone watching back home but a reminder of how global these pre-season trips have become. It’s already on general sale through Liverpool’s retail channels at the usual price point.
Judging by how well the home shirt has landed, we expect this one to follow the same path. It ticks every box a kit launch needs, familiar enough to feel like Liverpool, distinctive enough to stand out on a rail, and tied to the club’s history closely enough that nobody needs convincing why it matters.