UCLA, Adidas introduce alternate ‘City’ football uniform
The new alternate uniform was designed to give UCLA a “bold and modern” look, according to a UCLA Athletics press release. (Adidas)
By camayak
Aug. 15, 2015 11:50 a.m.
Editor’s note: This post is an updated version of an earlier piece that ran on July 9.
UCLA and Adidas revealed yet another new uniform for the Bruins Wednesday, adding a new “City” kit to the “True Blue” ensemble introduced in early July.
The City look closely resembles last season’s alternative uniform L.A. Steel, although the new strip is black instead of slate. The new alternate uniform joins the new home uniform in Adidas’ campaign to start the UCLA season.
As of Thursday morning, there was no announcement as to when the Bruins would unveil their latest jersey on the field. The Primeknit kit was designed to give UCLA a “bold and modern” look, according to a UCLA Athletics press release, which complements the already revealed home uniforms, which will feature Primeknit material and a “modernized” design.
While the material of the home uniform creates a patterned look across the chest, sleeves and back, the True Blue jersey colors with white-and-gold UCLA stripes and gold lettering remain unchanged. The 2015 update did not alter the gold pants or the gold helmet with blue lettering. In contrast, the new City alternate uniform is solid black with metallic accents.
Adidas describes the Primeknit material as a “cutting-edge, proprietary yarn blend that increases durability and abrasion resistance.” It is designed to keep players cool and increase range of motion.
To fans, the new look of the home uniform is most notably marked by the lack of solid colors – even the stripes along the shoulders are broken into segmented pieces. Adidas also announced a new “Bruin Bold” font for the jerseys that will be used exclusively by UCLA. The metallic gold numbers on the front and back have diagonal black lines running through them. New cleats and gloves complete the redesign.
UCLA and Adidas began teasing the True Blue look July 9 on Twitter, but did not reveal what the uniform would be used for.
The Bruins have sported a different alternate look for at least one home game in each of the past four seasons.
In 2011, UCLA wore all-white in its resounding 50-0 loss to USC. The next two alternates were starkly different, darkening the color scheme with L.A. Nights and L.A. Midnight in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Most recently, UCLA wore its L.A. Steel alternate in the 2014 homecoming game against Arizona. The uniform featured a gray jersey with blue-and-gold stripes, gray pants, gold shoes and a matte gray helmet.
2015 will be the first change to the core home uniform in recent memory. UCLA has had a contract with Adidas since 1999. In April 2010, with just 24 hours before their exclusive renegotiation period was set to end, the organizations agreed to renew their contract. The current deal is set to expire in 2017.
The Bruins will debut their new True Blue look at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 5 against the University of Virginia.
Compiled by Tanner Walters and Claire Fahy, Bruin Sports senior staff.
