How French artist Fey The Wolf designed the All Blacks’ ‘discreet but flashy’ collared jersey

When the All Blacks and adidas revealed their 2023 Rugby World Cup jersey on Wednesday the fact that it was essentially an all black jersey was not surprising.

What was unexpected was the designer they’ve chosen to collaborate with on the project.

Described as an “underground designer from Paris” Fey The Wolf is a relative unknown, a choice that reflects adidas’ intention for the 2023 design to ‘disrupt’ the sports jersey space.

The choice was most surprising to Fey, who revealed that when someone from adidas first approached him in 2021 he thought they were joking.

“We didn’t want to go down the cultural route. We wanted to work on something that was relevant for this World Cup and how we bring New Zealand to France,” said adidas spokesperson, Matt Fielding, explaining why they didn’t go with a local artist for the job.

He recalled previous jersey collaborations such as the 2019 kit which was designed by Y-3, a collaboration between Paris-based Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto and adidas. .

Favouring an “unexpected” approach, Fielding says adidas wanted to “have someone from the inner cities of Paris who was actually born and bred and understands Paris and understands the French side of things and how we then connect that to New Zealand”.

At the jersey launch on Wednesday morning Fey remembered his first encounter with the New Zealand’s national team more than two decades ago – watching the All Black’s take on the French during their 2000 tour of France and Italy.

“I was 10-years-old, and my dad was watching the game against France. I was in the front of the TV, [thinking] who are those guys doing the haka?” Fey recalled.

Fey’s signature is a minimal aesthetic and black colour palette, from his personal wardrobe to his art. “I feel confident when I’m wearing black. Every day I feel special and when I see the players wearing black, it’s the same.”

Discussions with All Black team members reinforced Fey’s belief that the dark shade acts a unifier and social leveller, on and off the pitch, which is represented artistically in the one-stroke pattern Fey developed.

“We talked about the brotherhood in the team, the acceptance of different origins and ages and that inspired me a lot, the unity.

“You can be very discreet but very flashy at the same time with the black colour. It’s timeless.”

From a production perspective the adidas design team says they strived for a balance of sustainability and performance. The on-field jersey is made with a high-performance yarn which contains at least 89% recycled polyester.

Amongst the technical and practical details, there are more symbolic inclusions too. The Silver Fern appears on the shirt 15 times, a nod to the 15 members of a rugby team. In addition to the iconic chest crest, 14 of Fey The Wolf’s one line ferns create a looping pattern across the jersey.

The 2023 jersey also sees the return of the classic collar. It was, says Fielding, a feature both consumers and players alike were “crying out for”.