New Orleans #Saints City Edition Uniforms
Sleeves pay homage to French architecture. Vintage French font for the Big Easy. Number font from the trolley cars in New Orleans.
The helmet features the city’s fleur on Louisiana’s shape. Diamond pattern to represent Martis Gras #NFL pic.twitter.com/1oNRKDnXet
— Dubya Design (@DubyaGFX) May 4, 2023
Major league basketball and baseball teams have rolled out alternate uniforms to better connect with their home communities, so when will the NFL join them? The New Orleans Saints have already introduced their wildly popular “Color Rush” jersey set and debuted controversial alternate helmets, but this concept art for “City Edition” uniforms from Dubya Design’s Jonah Ward is a great step in the right direction.
Pairing black jerseys with matching pants and a clean gold helmet, Ward took influence from some of New Orleans’ best-known iconography to design the new kit.
Ward writes, “Paying homage to French architecture with the sleeves, a subtle nod to (Mardi Gras) in the sleeve pattern, trolley fonts for the numbers, ‘The Big Easy’ in a Vintage French-esque font, the 3 fleurs in the collar mimic the city flag.”
It’s a great look. The detailing along the sleeves recalls the ornate wrought-iron railing you’ll see on balconies throughout the French Quarter, and most critically the gold is actually, well, gold — not the mismatched khaki tones you’ll see in some Saints uniforms. Ward’s choice of font is a close match to the iconic streetcar signage found in the city.
There’s also a great use for the fan-favorite Louisiana state patch the Saints have used before, which Ward placed on the helmet: “I took the Saints New Orleans outline logo from their past, replaced their fleur with the City Flag Fleur, and inverted the state to black. The stripe is a (Mardi Gras) pattern.”
What do you think? As the NFL continues to evaluate its options and make every game more memorable by introducing alternate helmets, jerseys, and international venues, we could see something very close to this concept emerge someday. Would you wear this jersey or put this helmet up on a shelf?
New Orleans City Edition Helmets
Same color scheme as their modern uniforms but with revised Decals. I took the Saints New Orleans outline logo from their past, replaced their fleur with the City Flag Fleur, and inverted the state to black. The stripe is a Martis Gras pattern. pic.twitter.com/NbwoI0ezOH
— Dubya Design (@DubyaGFX) May 4, 2023