Another collaboration, another football shirt from Pompeii that makes you question why everyone else isn't working at this level.

The Madrid-based lifestyle brand dropped two more kits for Real Racing Club de Santander, a Spanish second division side celebrating their 113th anniversary. A dark green home jersey with a polo collar that leans more Riviera than relegation scrap, and a half white, half green houndstooth away strip split cleanly down the middle. Both designed to be worn, which sounds obvious but rarely is.

The details matter here. Embroidered crest, sharp cuff striping, "RACING" across the back. It feels deliberately brash without tipping into costume. That balance is harder to strike than it looks, and Pompeii keeps landing it.

This isn't a one-off. Pompeii has been circling football for a few seasons now, and each drop tightens the argument that they're leading the pack. Before this season's Racing anniversary kit, they linked with Kappa to create Pompeii Club de Fútbol, a fictional team that somehow produced more desirable shirts than half of Europe's top flights combined.

The first capsule in 2023 set the tone. Proper striping, balanced silhouettes, crests that felt archival rather than ironic. Season two doubled down with a silver away shirt and pinstriped warm-up pieces that looked good enough to wear to a wedding. These were clothes you could throw on with denim or tailored trousers and not feel like you'd just left five-a-side.

A lot of brands can land one good shirt. Very few can build a body of work like this.

With Racing, Pompeii applied the same discipline to a real club with real history. The anniversary collection doesn't drown itself in references, it compliments them. The half-and-half execution feels graphic but grown-up. The home shirt's tonal triangular pattern is subtle enough to reward a second glance. Even the track top, the kind of piece most suppliers treat as an afterthought, carries the same design language. It's cohesive.

What Pompeii understands is that football shirts have escaped the stadium. They exist in cafés, galleries, on city bikes, and they're judged by people who care about cut and fabrication as much as league tables. Designing for that audience requires restraint and knowing when to stop.

There's no template fatigue here. No last-minute sponsor chaos. Just clear, well-executed ideas, delivered cleanly. Another entry in a growing run of Pompeii-designed kits that feel like clothes first and sportswear second.

Worth paying attention to. Very worth it.

Shot of the good stuff.

Shot of the good stuff.