Shirt of the year in January?!

It's important not to get too carried away in life, but I'm doing exactly that for this week's Collectors Club.

A new release has hit virtually every note in my personal football kit playbook, so  much so that I'm happy to prematurely declare it as one of the best shirts of 2024. Yes, we have 11 months and literally thousands (latest estimates suggest there are almost 4000 professional football clubs in the world, for what it’s worth) of new designs to parse through for the rest of the year, but I'd be surprised if we see many better than the Palmeiras 2024 home shirt.

Palmeiras shirt history

Palmeiras are no strangers to a banging football kit and indeed their tenure with current manufacturer Puma has been something of a triumph. Following a typically conversative 'first year of a new deal' design in 2019, the 2020 home (above right) was widely considered to be one of the best shirts of the year. Subsequent home shirts haven't quite reached the same lofty heights, but there have been wins nonetheless across the broader catalogue (personal favourites include the 2021 third, 2022 special and last year's home and third shirts).

2024 Palmeiras shirt by Puma

Browse our collection of Puma football shirts here.  

What we have before us in 2024 though might have even surpassed the greatness of 2020. I'm convinced that embossed details are the direction of travel brands ought to make, and that's exactly what Puma have leaned into here.

Across the body of the shirt are crests from Palmeiras's history inlaid neatly within a stripey pattern. Because the details are embossed, they come in and out of focus as the light hits the shirt. I'm a huge fan of this aesthetic, especially in contrast to more obvious patterns which can easily make a shirt look cluttered. Embossed details also give a sense of quality, with many brands unable to even dabble in the area given the increased complexity and additional manufacturing requirements.

With the embossed elements providing a wonderful yet understated base, the Puma logo and Palmeiras club crest are given plenty of chances to shine. Both elements represent the best of plastic applications at the moment, with some stunning details in the form of various textures throughout. The stars of the Puma are one thing, but the crest is even more impressive with emanating lines from the centre of the leading red star, more stars throughout the base of the crest and a series of varied lined patterns in other sections. Not all plastic crests are created equally, and this is an example of how to do it the right way.

Another well chosen design decision can be found in the collar. Leaks for several upcoming shirts are hinting at the fact that the other big names in the scene, Nike and adidas, are set to go more experimental on us with their collars. It's always hard to innovate in this area, especially given the relentless churn of new shirts, but an overengineered collar can easily ruin a design as a whole. The collar of the Palmeiras 2024 home shirt is exactly the kind of collar I like, no nonsense and more of a role player in the overall ensemble as opposed to the unfortunate focal point.

Finally, a word on the gold details. Perhaps the weakest part of the shirt from a technical aspect is the simple transfer sponsor, but the gold colour choice (which matches the Puma logo and sub-crest details) is a lovely complement to the green primary colour. Best of all is the fact that Palmeiras are riding into 2024 as Brasileirão champions and the most recent winners of the Supercopa do Brasil. It's satisfying to me to have gold details like this align with tangible success for a team in the form of trophies the previous year, and though I'd never want or expect to see this as a hard and fast rule, it's simply something I like to look out for.