Le Havre AC and Umbro continue their long-standing partnership with the release of the Le Havre AC 2025–26 third kit, a design that blends football heritage with architectural identity. Created for the 2025–26 Ligue 1 season, this third shirt steps away from the club’s traditional Ciel et Marine colours to explore a refined, historically grounded aesthetic. The result is a kit that reflects both the club’s roots and the city’s post-war legacy, presented through a carefully considered palette and graphic structure.
Design and Technical Features
The Umbro Le Havre AC 2025–26 third jersey is built around a light cream base, a tone chosen for its strong visual and cultural associations rather than contrast alone. Across both the front and back run bold vertical blue stripes, forming the core of the shirt’s visual identity. Each stripe is edged with a repeating zigzag motif, adding rhythm and texture to the design without disrupting its symmetry.
Between the blue stripes, fine burgundy pinstripes introduce an additional layer of detail, subtly enriching the colour scheme. This combination of cream, blue, and burgundy is extended to the finishing elements of the shirt. A classic fold-over polo collar, executed in cream, features narrow blue and burgundy trim, mirrored precisely on the sleeve cuffs.
Branding is deliberately restrained. The Umbro double-diamond logo appears on the right chest, balanced by the Le Havre AC crest on the left. Both are applied in a single-colour burgundy finish, ensuring consistency with the overall palette. The central shirt sponsor, Winamax, is positioned prominently on the front, while secondary sponsor logos are placed on the sleeves and lower rear section in line with league regulations. The kit is completed with matching shorts and socks, forming a full third-kit configuration.
History and Inspiration
The defining influence behind the Le Havre AC 2025–26 third kit lies beyond football. The cream base directly references the beige reinforced concrete architecture of Auguste Perret, the architect responsible for rebuilding much of Le Havre’s city centre after World War II. Perret’s work established a distinctive urban identity, characterised by modular forms, vertical lines, and a sandy colour palette that remains instantly recognisable today.
This architectural legacy is now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, making it a point of pride for the city and its residents. Umbro’s design channels these principles through vertical striping, structured repetition, and a muted colour range, translating architectural concepts into a footballing context. The shirt thus serves as a visual bridge between Le Havre AC and the city it represents.
Usage and Debut
The Umbro Le Havre AC 2025–26 third kit forms part of the club’s official matchwear range for the current Ligue 1 season. Its on-pitch debut took place on 18 January, when Le Havre AC wore the kit in their league fixture against Stade Rennais. The uninterrupted stripe pattern on the back ensures visual continuity during match play, reinforcing the kit’s identity from every angle.
The launch of the third kit aligns with Umbro’s broader approach to combining heritage storytelling with contemporary football design, positioning the shirt as both a functional match garment and a narrative piece within the season’s collection.
Did You Know?
- Auguste Perret was a pioneer in the use of reinforced concrete, a material that defined Le Havre’s post-war reconstruction and directly inspired this kit’s colour palette.
- Le Havre’s rebuilt city centre is one of the few modern urban areas listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The zigzag detailing on the stripes echoes mid-20th-century graphic design trends, reinforcing the shirt’s retro undertone while remaining structurally modern.
