26 Nations, 26 Stories: How Adidas navigates global culture through football kit design

In less than two months, one of the world's biggest sporting events, the men's Football World Cup, is set to take place. The tournament, this time held across Canada, Mexico and the US, is not only the sporting event of the summer. It is also the grand finale of a historic collaboration: Adidas as the outfitter of the German national football team. From next year, the German Football Association (DFB) will be working with direct competitor Nike.

For the Herzogenaurach-based sporting goods company, the focus is currently on this summer. It is already drumming up publicity with several campaigns, such as a recent ‘vintage kit’ market in Shanghai. The advertising for the DFB's current away kit also seems to be working well. The sales launch was “very successful,” emphasised Adidas spokesperson Oliver Brüggen. “The demand in the first few days was even higher than for the Euro 2024 away kit.”

FashionUnited took this as an opportunity to speak with Mateo Kossmann about the final DFB kit, the collaboration with a total of 26 nations, and current football trends and influences from the second-hand market. Kossmann is responsible for the collaboration with national teams at Adidas as global category director – licensed football apparel (federations) and has just returned from a business trip to Mexico.

The perfect time to get the ball rolling.

First of all: What is the process for obtaining a national team jersey?

The process of creating a jersey is a long, collaborative journey that takes between 18 and 24 months. It isn’t a matter of Adidas or the Federation dictating terms; it is a shared process involving various milestones. Together, we define the stories we want to tell, the colors we want to explore, and the elements that are important for the jerseys.

At Adidas, we also study consumers and fans to understand what resonates with them and what stories will connect with their emotions. Combining fan insights, the Federation’s perspective, and the seasonal identity of Adidas Football, we build the kit through multiple rounds of feedback.

This year marks the end of the partnership with the DFB for the time being. What were your feelings when you first embarked on the project?

The collaboration and shared journey with the DFB and the German national team is long and special for Adidas. Heading into the 2026 World Cup, we knew we couldn't disappoint.

We put a great deal of love and attention into creating a very strong range for the team. We have a significant history together – many ups and downs – and while we look back at what we’ve experienced, we also focus on how the German national team should look in 2026 at the biggest World Cup ever.

Whilst the home kit draws inspiration from the 1990 World Cup victory, the away kit pays homage to several eras of your shared history. Could you use this example to walk us through the design process for such a kit?

For Germany 2026, the home kit celebrates past victories in a unique way. It takes cues from winning kits but reinvents them so that fans feel a sense of familiarity while seeing something fresh and exciting to wear in the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Regarding away kits, there is more flexibility. While a home kit – like Germany’s white or Spain’s red – is traditional, away kits allow us to meet different expectations. Germany has had green, black, and even pink kits. For 2026, we chose blue. This draws from several historical elements: a blue kit used in a friendly, the dark blue of the first Franz Beckenbauer Adidas tracksuit, and the blue training wear often worn by our founder and the team in the 90s.

We integrated these cues into the kit, maintaining a diamond-shape connection between the home and away designs. The engineered fabric of the authentic jersey plays with light and dark shades of blue to create a "denim" look depending on the angle. This blue shade is highly wearable both on and off the pitch, and bringing it to life was a massive effort from the Adidas and DFB teams.

36 years ago, the Trefoil logo also adorned a national team jersey for the last time. Was bringing it back now the icing on the cake to celebrate this collaboration?

For Germany, definitely. Adidas always brings its best to these major events. When planning, we decided to use both the performance logo on the home kit and the Trefoil on the away kit to celebrate the brand in different ways. On the home kit, we focused on "our life, our colors," emphasizing the national flag and identity.

The away kit focuses more on the cultural element. For us, the Trefoil doesn't just mean "retro" or "nostalgia" – it means culture, which can be interpreted in many ways. While the design may have nostalgic cues, the fabric and technology provide peak performance for the players.

We applied this cultural storytelling across different nations: a "flowery desert" story for Chile, the blue diamond story for Germany, and a stylish kit inspired by Spanish book covers for Spain. You only succeed in this by working closely with local teams and federations to ensure the design truly resonates with what people want.

In total, you’re currently working with 26 nations. Apart from the fact that every country has its own history, what are the biggest differences?

With 26 partners from different parts of the world, there is no way to streamline the process completely. Every culture is different. Some partners are very vocal and involved, while others give us more leeway. We have had meetings where designs receive standing ovations, and others where we debate every detail, from the cuff structure to the exact Pantone shade of the flag. Ultimately, it is a partnership; both parties must be happy with the direction, otherwise it wouldn't be sustainable in the long term.

Is there a particular story behind a detail on a jersey that has really inspired you?

Japan is always special. The federation has a very clear vision. They wanted to visualize the concept of "going beyond the horizon." On the home kit, we visualized that horizon, and on the away kit, the opportunities beyond it. They wanted 12 colors on the jersey to represent the 11 players and the fans. We decided the fan color should be red – the color of the flag and passion – placing a red stripe down the center of the jersey. We even included a red zip liner on the anthem jacket as a subtle "wink" to that story.

Another example is Curaçao. They qualified late, so we had to act fast. Instead of a standard white away kit, we spoke with people on the island about their culture. They described blue waves, beaches, and the vibrant colors of a special town. We landed on a unique, wearable yellow colorway with branding details that pop, creating a fresh look for the summer without overdoing it.

Today, the Trefoil logo is particularly associated with the Originals lifestyle brand. Does this also build a bridge to football as a trend?

Football is a global sport that influences lifestyle and fashion far beyond the pitch. When we create a kit, the priority is how it looks during a performance, but we know it also carries deep symbolic meaning for the culture. For 2026, we ensured fans could represent their teams in various ways: long-sleeves, authentic and replica versions, crop jerseys, and even "bringback" remixes with oversized, fashion-forward fits.

When you launch a kit, people talk. The fashion world takes inspiration from iconic eras like the 90s or 2000s, and we see more non-traditional brands entering the football space. We think that’s great because it brings the best to the fans.

You mentioned the 90s and 2000s, two centuries which also shaped fashion trends of the last years. In which “throwback time” is football culture at the moment?

The 90s provided very unique, iconic designs that still inspire us. However, we are slowly seeing a shift toward 2000s trends as Gen Z becomes more relevant. As humans, we are naturally nostalgic, but that doesn’t mean we should simply remake what already exists. We have to be smart about using cues from the past to create something reinvented.

The Argentinian home kit is a perfect example. To celebrate their three World Cups, we looked at the 1978, 1986, and 2022 jerseys. We combined their three distinct shades of light blue into a new, faded artwork on the stripes. We also added a crest with a holographic effect showing the years they won. It feels familiar but fresh for the current World Champions.

The older jerseys are also hot items on the second-hand market. To what extent is this relevant for Adidas?

It’s another way of celebrating football. Whether people want the latest performance gear or a baggy retro fit with a specific sponsor, we celebrate that excitement. Our "Bringbacks" program involves an "archaeological" approach to create one-to-one remakes of original jerseys. We replicate the specific fabrics, crests, and suede effects – only changing minor internal labels for modern regulations. These will be available for many federations in 2026.

What’s your all time favourite national jersey?

I’m originally from Uruguay, so I have several jerseys from my youth that I’ll never let go of. But if I had to pick one iconic design, it would be the 1990 DFB home kit. That look – the colors, the contrast, and the combination of simplicity and "loudness" – still gets me very excited.