Outside the Philips Stadium, PSV will be chasing success next season in a black and orange outfit. Five questions to Arne van Breugel, Manager of Merchandising & Licensing at PSV, about the club's new away shirt: 'Every season, we put our ear to the ground with the supporters because we want them to recognize themselves in a shirt.'
For the first time in history, PSV is playing in a black and orange shirt. Why was these colors chosen?
"Every year we want to surprise with a unique shirt, without ignoring the wishes of supporters and staff. The shirt is unique because of the color combination. The neon orange is very popular with our young target group and also represents our country, the Netherlands. To stay even closer to our roots you will also find expressions on the shirt that are related to Brabant and the Philips Stadium itself."
In the campaign, the away shirt represents commitment. Can you explain the story behind that?
"Wherever you come from, we are all PSV'er. The love for our club, city, region and country connects us and together we fight to bring home the three points. That is the story behind the shirt and is therefore emphatically highlighted in the design."
Who all have a say in the design?
"Tenues are designed a year and a half in advance. On behalf of the technical side of the club, Phillip Cocu and Marcel Brands have therefore still been involved. They want tenues to meet the right performance requirements. On behalf of merchandise, I am involved. Besides the quality of the kits, we want to launch something that people want to have and wear with pride. I help ensure that. We also listen to the supporters every season because we want them to recognize themselves in a jersey. We gather all input and present it to Umbro designers who come up with sketches. We strive to reflect a piece of each target group in every shirt."
In what respect did PSV listen to the supporters?
"During the design and conception phase, we intensively involved the PSV Sounding Board. From them, pride in our stadium, which has stood on this spot since the moment it was founded, really turned out to be a thing. The designers at Umbro started working on this and were inspired by the wooden grandstand from 1916. We then presented that idea to the designers at Umbro who designed it as can be seen subtly on the back of the shirt. You will see that we have also listened to our supporters in next season's home shirt, which will be launched later."
Speaking of details, notable is the checkered motif on the sleeve.
"The motif refers to the blocks in the Brabant flag. A few years ago, PSV played in an all-black shirt with a checkered stripe on the chest. That shirt was incredibly popular with our supporters because of the connection with Brabant. However, neither we nor Umbro want to release an exact copy. Designers take an idea and pitch it. What I personally really like is that the block structure continues across the full width of the sleeve towards a spiral structure at our founders badge. That makes it a unique shirt."
Pre-registration
The PSV Uitshirt is now available for pre-order and is available from €84.99. Click the button to go to the cellectie. When you order it, the shirt will be delivered to your home on June 22 during the official release. The shirt will also be available in PSV FANstore from then on.
