A Manchester City Fan Designed the New Third Kit Using Artificial Intelligence

An ordinary lunch break, a screen open, and an artificial intelligence tool. That's how, without anyone imagining it at the time, Manchester City's new third kit for the 2026-27 season came to be. The club completed its kit collection this Thursday with the release of this alternate jersey, and the story behind the design is what makes it truly different from any other.

It wasn't drawn up by a design studio holed up for months in a room. It was created by a fan named Elliott using AI Creator, the generative artificial intelligence tool Puma made available to the public to turn written ideas into visual jersey designs. And he wasn't the only one who gave it a shot: fans from more than 200 countries submitted over 180,000 unique designs, and between them cast nearly 1.7 million votes before settling on a winner.

Elliott himself still seems to be having trouble believing it.

"I've always loved football shirts and design, and I created mine using Puma's AI Creator during my lunch break, never imagining it could actually become City's kit. The whole experience has been amazing, from seeing people's reaction to the design to seeing it worn by the players for the first time when I was invited to the photo shoot. It still feels surreal to know that I've been part of the club's history, even in a small way, and I hope it becomes a kit that City fans love and remember for years to come"Elliott

A Direct Nod to 2013-14

So what does the winning design look like? Vertical stripes in sky blue and navy over a white base, a combination that almost immediately calls to mind the 2013-14 third kit, probably the most fondly remembered of the club's entire Nike era, which ran from 2013 to 2019. The result is simple, direct, and conveys identity without overcomplicating things: an alternate kit that could well become one of the fans' favorites in the years ahead.

Puma emphasizes that this is the first jersey in history designed by both fans and artificial intelligence to actually be worn on the pitch, not just as a collector's item. This isn't the first time City has flirted with this technology: in 2025, players like Ederson, Stefan Ortega, and Rico Lewis had already used AI Creator to design a limited-edition goalkeeper kit.

That effort, by comparison, fell well short of what Elliott pulled off from his computer during his lunch hour. Sometimes the best ideas don't come out of a design studio, but from a fan willing to give it a try.