How French artist Fey the Wolf designed iconic All Blacks jersey for Rugby World Cup 2023

RIYADH: The famous black shirts. The Haka. And of course, the devastating rugby.

New Zealand’s All Blacks are sporting royalty, a team that transcends rugby and one of the world’s major attractions when the biggest matches come around.

And they do not come bigger than the Rugby World Cup 2023.

When the 10th edition of the tournament kicks off in France in September, the Kiwis will once again be among the favorites, and to launch their new shirt for the tournament, the design of the team’s new adidas shirts was entrusted to underground French artist Fey the Wolf, known for his passion for the color black.

There was only one place to start, the famous badge.

Fey said: “I was watching the ferns first and I wanted to twist it to my way, doing something minimalist.

“I found this fern and I used it to find my own style. I was watching the old logo and the old jerseys that the All Blacks had through the years, and I was inspired by that, and I wanted to do it something different, something minimalist, and something that would look pure.

“And I found this idea of doing the fern in the one line to symbolize the unity and the brotherhood of the team.”

While Fey studied old footage of the All Blacks uniform and badge for inspiration, he also incorporated elements from his own homeland.

“When I started thinking how to design the fern, I was looking at the silver fern, the fern from New Zealand.

“They are more sharp, more pointed. And I also watched the fern that came from France, they’re called Osmunda royal. The leaves are more rounded. I wanted something like a mix of both, to be the bridge between New Zealand and France,” he added.

Fey, who noted that there was “no more iconic jersey in sport” than that of the All