How To Make a Unique Kit

On Friday, the Riverhounds announced that they will reveal their newest kit on February 27th. With every new kit cycle, fans hope for something fresh, bold, and representative of the club’s identity. But what makes a soccer kit truly iconic? Is it the colors? The patterns? The small details that tie it to the city?

Colors, Stripes, and Collars 

When it comes to the basics of soccer kits, the colors and where they are in the kit are essential. Could you take the Arsenal route and just go rouge from their color scheme (23/24 Neon), or maybe your team can be like the Crew and take inspiration from people in your community (Goosebumps kit)

Ask any Riverhounds fan what the most recognizable kits in recent memory are, and most will point to the 2022 and 2023 "Hoops" kit. But let’s be honest—does the design itself deserve that level of praise, or is it just nostalgia from the Open Cup run and the club's first-place Eastern Conference finish?

I’d argue the latter. And if we’re being technical, calling them “hoops” is misleading. Traditional hoops wrap around the entire jersey, but as this photo I took from the Hounds’ first-round playoff loss during the aforementioned 2023 season clearly shows—the stripes are only on the front.

On top of colors and stripes, it’s the finer details like collar styles and the color of the shorts that can make or break a kit. A well-matched kit isn't just about the jersey; it's about how every element comes together to create a cohesive identity. In the case of last year’s Riverhounds away kits, the subtle steel plate pattern on the jersey with the stripe that was based on a Steel I-Beam made the jersey itself a near 10 out of 10, but when the players are shown with gray shorts with black numbering, it’s a bit of mismatch.

My Designs

Ahead of the official reveal, I took it upon myself to create some kit mockups—ideas based on the club’s identity, history, and elements that could make for a unique look. The feedback on social media has been overwhelmingly positive.

• The black kit embraces a geometric hypocycloid pattern in gold that also incorporates the badge into the design.

• The white kit is a bit of a hybrid of the Hounds’ what and black and white collared kit but it features wavy black and gold lines to be a nod to the rivers.

• Like the white kit, the yellow kit is a hybrid of a previous Hounds kit with a vertical sash however it implements the checkers that the Hounds have yet to use in their kit.