Nike creates first bespoke kit for the Lionesses ahead of the Women’s World Cup 2019

Nike has created the first kit designed specifically for the England Women’s senior football team, which features a new hand-drawn print inspired by native plants. Previously the team, dubbed the Lionesses, have sported the same kit design as the senior men’s team. The launch comes in anticipation of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, which commences in France on 7 June.

The new design for the home kit is white, with burgundy and red cuffs. The socks feature a brand new white and grey print featuring plants native to different counties of England, including poppy, wood anemone, Nottingham catchfly, rosebay willowherb and, of course, the rose. The print has also been used for the away kit in a brand new “dark red crush” colour.

The form of the kit was designed after 4D scanning players at the Nike Sports Research Lab and capturing them in motion. Each of the kits will be constructed from at least 12 recycled plastic bottles, part of the brand’s sustainability drive which has seen more than six million plastic bottles end up in its products since 2010.

The new design is just one of a number of custom kits Nike has created for each of the teams it is sponsoring this year, including France and the US. The French kit includes polka dots, an art deco font and rose gold cockerel logo and swoosh, while the kit for the defending champions, the US team, is inspired by the 1999 team, which won the championship and changed the direction of women’s football in the country.

The announcement came just days after Adidas revealed designs for a unique kit for Germany’s women’s team.