Southampton FC Unveil New Home Kit Chock Full of Features, Including AR Integration

Premier League side Southampton FC has unveiled its new home kit for the 2021-22 season, and it’s chock full of special features and symbolism.

The kit, unveiled Thursday, May 27, is the first produced for the club by manufacturer Hummel under a new contract that was announced in January. The kit is touted as a celebration of Southampton’s DNA, and mimics a design the club wore in the 2001-02 season, its final campaign at its former stadium, The Dell.

“The shirt is also integrated with Augmented Reality technology that fans can scan with their smartphones to bring the shirt to life and gain access to exclusive content, including a 3D James Ward-Prowse [the team captain] in their living room,” exclaims the club’s website, although details were sparse on exactly which features were scannable.

The front of the jersey features red and white stripes, bordered with black pinstripes. The white stripes have tonal chevrons pointing down, while the chevrons in the red stripes point upward. Hummel’s signature chevrons, in black, run down solid red sleeves. The V-neck collar is black with white and red trim, and becomes wider as it wraps around to the front of the shirt.

The back of the jersey is solid red, with a special logo near the collar commemorating the 20th anniversary of the move from the Dell to St. Mary’s Stadium.

Outlines of both the Dell and St. Mary’s are printed inside the collar, and the names of stands from both stadiums are printed along the inner back hem.

The shorts that go along with the jersey are black with white Hummel chevrons down the sides and a small red triangle. The socks are mainly white, with red and black stripes at the top and “SAINTS” spelled out vertically in red down the back.