PSG, Germany, Miami… Why pink jerseys have become so trendy

This week, PSG officially unveiled its third jersey, a pale pink tunic that Luis Enrique’s men will wear for the first time this Friday against Rennes (9 p.m., matchday 6 of Ligue 1). For several years, this color has been able to put an end to all stereotypes.

It’s the story of a beautiful revenge. That of a jersey widely criticized at the time of its release… which became a historic bestseller. After setting Germany ablaze, with a debate between two almost irreconcilable visions of society as a backdrop, the pink jersey worn by the Mannschaft at Euro 2024 has become the most popular away kit in the history of the German selection. Last March, it broke the record for the greatest number of jerseys sold between the time of its release and the start of a major tournament.

A few weeks later, it was PSG’s turn to see life through rose-tinted glasses with its brand new third jersey, unveiled on Tuesday. Designed by the Jordan brand, a partner of the capital club for several seasons, it aims to “embody the desire of supporters and athletes to assert themselves with confidence, on and off the pitch”, according to the club’s official communication. A “symbol of belonging and pride”, still to quote PSG’s message, which would therefore have a social vocation. Knowing that we are starting from a long way back in terms of the historical representation of this colour in popular culture.

Pink “is not a colour for football”

For a long time, pink was often described as a “girls’ color”, as opposed to blue, which was for boys. However, this cliché has no historical basis. In the past, pink was considered a masculine shade, with kings often depicted in this color in the Middle Ages, while blue – the color of the Virgin Mary – was associated with women. “In broad terms, pink has always been an aristocratic color that was not gendered at the outset, it evolved later”, explains Pierre-Alain Perennou, editorial manager of the specialist website Footpack. In the current situation, the side where it is associated with femininity is an outdated reasoning.” Not for everyone.

At the height of the controversy over the German national team jersey, Imagethe most widely read newspaper on the other side of the Rhine, also considered in an editorial that pink “is not a colour for football”. Indignant reactions that highlight gender stereotypes that are particularly persistent in sport. But yet far removed from the evolution of mentalities.

“We’re seeing a lot of pink coming back into men’s collections, so we’re really moving away from the girly side,” says Albane Desazars de Montgailhard, a trend analyst for Tagwalk, a fashion search engine. She cites several major brands that highlighted pink in their men’s collections last season, such as Dries Van Noten (25% of looks had pink for the spring/summer 2025 collection), Gucci (17%), JW Anderson (16%), Hermès (10%) and Prada (8%). Proof that pink has become extremely trendy for men.

Stade Français has opened the breach

In France, the first sports club to break the codes was obviously Stade Français. The Parisian rugby players wore their famous pink jersey for the first time in 2005, at a time – not so long ago – when the choice of this color, at the antipodes of the virility that sticks to the skin of rugby, was a huge transgression. “I remember the faces of the opposing players in the corridors of the locker room. They were devastated,” recalled Jérôme Fillol, a Stade Français player at the time of the introduction of this very special jersey, in the columns of Olympic Midday.

“For our part, we knew that we were going to play in pink, but between having the information, physically discovering the jerseys and, above all, wearing them, there is a step… I remember the look of our little pigs in the pack…”, adds the former scrum-half.

Through his desire to bring a touch of modernity and originality to the club, while attracting a wider audience, particularly families and young people, Max Guazzini, president of Stade Français until 1991, opened a breach into which Olympique Lyonnais (2011-2012), Real Madrid (2014-2015), Manchester United (2018-2019) and FC Barcelona (2020-2021) have rushed.

The Beckham Effect

This season, before PSG, the last club to have taken the step is AC Milan, while Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, founded in 2018 under the leadership of David Beckham, has chosen pink as its main colour.

“There is this fashion side associated with Beckham,” notes Pierre-Alain Perrenou.

“When you bring in Lionel Messi and your jerseys are predominantly pink, you use the color for the fashion side.” At the Paris 2024 Olympics, it was even the French handball team that went pink, with a particularly noticeable jersey during the group stage against Argentina.

PSG itself is accustomed to this fact. For the 2020-2021 season, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar & Co wore a white jersey with a pink stripe (away jersey) as well as a tunic that offered a mix of pink and fluorescent purple (fourth jersey). “PSG has been in the habit of releasing third and fourth jerseys with original colors for some time, with more risk-taking,” recalls the La Source Parisienne account, which revealed the PSG pink jersey version 2024-2025 on X two weeks before it was made official. With a commercial interest behind it.

“Pink is more memorable”

“At PSG, they don’t make many mistakes with these choices. I think it’s well calculated,” adds Pierre-Alain Perrenou. “It’s a third jersey, the goal is to convert people other than supporters to buy your jersey and get people talking about you. And it really works because few teams have it as their main color.” La Source parisienne agrees: “It’s a color that targets a younger audience, more fashionable but also more street. Many young people in Île-de-France wear tracksuits in fluorescent or flashy colors,” notes the account followed by more than 130,000 people on X.

“Mentalities are changing. People are more open. Everyone is trying to stand out and wear less classic things,” adds Albane Desazars de Montgailhard. “Pink makes a bigger impression, it’s more visible, it gets into people’s minds.” And that’s why club marketing departments have never been so inclined to opt for a colour that was once considered the ultimate transgression.