Humanrace: Why five European club jerseys have changed into hand-painted art

Music superstar Pharell Williams [COURTESY]

You might have noticed football clubs Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus changing their jerseys into much simpler, hand-painted versions.

This is because players from these five clubs will sport artistic versions of jerseys launched by Adidas, who have partnered with music superstar Pharell Williams to create a ‘Humanrace’ range, with a striking hand-painted appeal.

The teams’ crests (badge) all carry a hand-painted feature and manufacturer logos, the sponsors’ names replaced by “Humanrace.”

Arsenal, Juve, Real Madrid and Manchester United launch special ‘Humanrace’ kits in collab with @Pharrell ???? pic.twitter.com/RBOTfJP1ql — B/R Football (@brfootball) October 23, 2020

Arsenal will feature the kit for the first time while they take on Leicester in the weekend, so will Manchester United who welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford.

 

In celebration of our history. A legendary jersey, redesigned by hand for the Humanrace.@adidasfootball x @pharrell | #Humanracefootball — Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 23, 2020

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Our @adidasfootball x @Pharrell collaboration is here ????

Our history, redesigned for today's generation. #MUFC #humanracefootball

?? https://t.co/BIx2Y7sE8W pic.twitter.com/dPvOMQLKY8 — Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 23, 2020

Bayern Munich will also wear the kits in the next round of the German Cup as Juventus take on Hellas Verona in the weekend with the Human race outfit.

The Adidas X Pharell latest feature aims to achieve unity in football, as the world grapples with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

"[We want to] demonstrate football is for everyone and the human race at its best, uniting together while celebrating our differences," said Adidas.

???? Vuelve la elegancia del ?.
? @realmadrid + @realmadridfem@adidasfootball | #humanracefootball — Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) October 23, 2020

“History is what shapes the future, and sometimes in order to look forwards, first we need to look back. The most important part of the process with this collection was to learn of each club’s legacies and how each defining moment of their histories were captured and preserved from a design perspective. Each of the new jerseys are symbols of the five club’s legacies and a true celebration of the universality of sport,” said Pharell, the Humanrace creative director.