They Call It The “CXXX Edition”

We couldn’t let the moment pass without toasting Nike’s latest set of luxurious, limited edition shirts for AIK, intriguingly labelled as the “CXXX Edition.”

Firstly, get your minds out of the gutters, the “CXXX” in question celebrates the club’s 130th anniversary through the cunning use of Roman numerals.

Only 130 shirts have been made, with each coming in its own presentation box and with all proceeds from their sale going towards helping young people to participate in sport.

As one of a relatively small number of teams in world football to wear black as their home colours, the Stockholm side nicknamed the “Tuxedo Squad” have always had their own sense of style about them.

That has been further amplified since Nike’s arrival as kit manufacturer in 2018 and their annual release of a special edition shirt in ridiculously small batches, riffing on the club’s history since their foundation in 1891.

The 1891 collection has brought international attention and prestige to AIK, whilst affirming Nike’s status as a luxurious, aspirational brand.

Black and gold is always a winning combination, but look at how the details of those seven chevrons draw the eye to the centre of the shirt and that badge which reminds us that AIK is more than just a football club.

With oars, swords, skis, a rifle, a fishing rod and of course a unicycle; the crest plays on their status as a multi-discipline sporting establishment who initially focused on athletics and only started a football team in 1896.

Everything seems to have been applied in opulent gold leaf.

Yes, they really are dead fancy.

Overall, the colours and shape of the badge remind us of Nike’s 2018-19 Ayrton Senna tribute shirts for Corinthians and in our opinion, these just might be the most desirable of the 1891 series so far.