European football has fallen for leather jackets Every club has its own style, with some interesting new releases arriving in 2027

Among the pinstripes and ties of the new AMIRI x Barcelona formalwear collection, one particular piece has attracted plenty of attention: a lambskin leather jacket featuring the Catalan club’s crest embossed across the chest and back. It is the latest expression of an increasingly visible trend in European football, where leather jackets are finding their way into official wardrobes, capsule collections and merchandising. Each club has its own style.

A Clásico in leather jackets

For the second chapter of its collaboration with Barça, designed for the 2026/27 season, AMIRI has introduced leather into an unmistakably tailored wardrobe. The burgundy jacket features an enormous Blaugrana crest across the front and back, emerging from the texture of the material without any colour contrast.

With El Clásico approaching, the comparison inevitably leads us to Real Madrid, who had already explored this territory alongside adidas and Y-3 in March 2024. The travel collection was presented through a campaign bringing together several Galáctico generations - most notably Jude Bellingham and Zinédine Zidane - and included a black faux-leather jacket with a collar, oversized fit and embroidered logos. The overall look was more understated than the leather jacket unveiled by AMIRI and Barcelona, even though the club crest was oversized here too.

Leather also appeared on the Real Madrid bench last March, when Álvaro Arbeloa wore a navy blue Louis Vuitton suede jacket, featuring an embossed Monogram, during the derby against Atlético Madrid. The new jacket recently unveiled by Louis Vuitton for the club’s official wardrobe is instead made from nylon with leather details.

Ready for motorsport jackets?

Real Madrid are also one of the clubs involved in the recent leaks surrounding adidas’ upcoming Racing Collection. According to Footy Headlines, the project is expected to be unveiled in the opening months of 2027 and will include jackets inspired by motorcycle and paddock apparel, featuring high collars, metal zips, ribbed shoulder padding and patches that reinterpret club crests in the style of racing teams.

The first details about the Real Madrid version emerged in June, describing a black leather jacket with white and mint-green elements. The Liverpool model, which surfaced in late August, is expected to be made from cowhide leather, with a dark base, red graphics and club emblems reinterpreted through a racing aesthetic, including the Liver Bird and a “Y.N.W.A.” patch standing for “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Bayern Munich are also expected to be involved in the project, with a combination of black, red and white. Finally, the Juventus previews that emerged last month show a black-and-white model featuring “JUVENTUS” across the chest, “1897” on the back, “BIANCONERI” on the collar and “FINO ALLA FINE” along the sleeves.

Leather jackets in Italy

While waiting for adidas’ racing version, Juventus have already introduced leather into their official wardrobe, designed by Giorgio Armani for the 2026/27 season: a midnight-blue lambskin blouson with a silk lining and front zip.

Italy has already seen several other interpretations of leather jackets. AC Milan have made them one of the central elements of their collaboration with Off-White: the burgundy varsity jacket released in 2026 combines a wool-blend body with black leather-effect sleeves and matching inserts in the graphic across the back. The capsule collection was worn by the players for their arrivals at the stadium, but the project was far from new. It had already begun in 2022 with a white leather varsity jacket, before continuing in September 2023, during Milan Fashion Week, with a grey wool and leather version. Both formed part of the men’s and women’s teams’ informal uniforms.

AC Milan also embraced rock imagery for the varsity jacket created with the Rolling Stones in 2023. Black, made from wool and faux leather and finished with red trims, the jacket combines the band’s famous tongue logo with the Rossoneri crest, while “Sympathy for the Devil” appears across the back: a connection between the band’s catalogue and the club’s symbol.

On the other side of the Naviglio, Inter had explored the connection with the world of motorcycles through CMJ (California Motor Jackets). The Gibaro Jacket by Inter x CMJ is a genuine leather jacket from the collection unveiled in 2024 to celebrate the Scudetto that earned the club its second star. Speaking of the Nerazzurri, one particularly unusual example linked to an individual player was Marcus Thuram during the latest Scudetto celebrations. The Frenchman recreated the famous photograph of Kobe Bryant holding the 2001 NBA Finals trophy, wearing a custom leather jacket modelled after Inter’s shirt, embellished with vintage-style patches and two Italian tricolours representing the titles won since his arrival. The reference was the Lakers jacket customised for Bryant by Moroccan designer Jeff Hamilton.

The varsity trend has also found its way into Ravenna’s official merchandise. The club’s 2026/27 fanwear range includes a black model with tonal sleeves, yellow-and-red trims, the team’s name applied as a patch across the front and “1913” - the year of the club’s foundation - on the back.

On an even smaller scale, there is Bikkembergs’ return alongside Fossombrone, announced last spring. The relationship between the club from the Marche region and the brand founded by the Belgian designer has a particularly unusual history, beginning when Dirk Bikkembergs purchased the team in 2005 and turned its players into models for his project. This new chapter revives that relationship through a collection that includes black leather jackets with front zips and a biker-inspired aesthetic.

Other collaborations

In January 2025, PSG unveiled a varsity jacket from the Jordan Wings collection. The dark blue model - featuring the “ICI C’EST PARIS” and “JORDAN” monograms - combines a cashmere-and-wool-blend body with leather panels across the shoulders, designed to evoke the Jumpman’s wings. The jacket belonged to a wider collection that also included leather trousers, knitwear and accessories.

The South Korean brand Over The Pitch also unveiled a Liverpool varsity jacket in January 2025, made from cowhide leather and decorated with graphics and lettering connecting Liverpool and Seoul. The relationship between the two parties went beyond a single garment: the agreement announced the previous year also included product development and the distribution of official merchandise in selected stores in Seoul and Suwon.

Liverpool have also incorporated leather into the outfits curated by Tommy Hilfiger, the club’s partner since January 2026. Before the Champions League match against Villarreal, Virgil van Dijk arrived at Anfield wearing an oversized black pebbled-leather jacket with a collar and zipped chest pocket. The distinctly 1990s-inspired design was worn over an open white shirt and a tank top.

Moving beyond club football, the England national team received its own interpretation in June 2026 through the collaboration between Nike and Palace. The England x Palace varsity jacket combines a grey wool-blend body with white full-grain cowhide leather sleeves. Palace lettering and oversized Three Lions graphics across the back complete the design, which features the classic cut of an American varsity jacket.

The spread of leather jackets shows how football formalwear is changing. Alongside tailored suits, an increasing range of styles and influences are bringing club wardrobes closer to the tastes of the public. Official teamwear is becoming a showcase capable of making the garments worn by players increasingly desirable to supporters, while major fashion brands are setting the codes, from Armani and Louis Vuitton to AMIRI, Tommy Hilfiger and Off-White.