The announcement of the return of Macron as our new kit manufacturer has been met with what can be kindly called indifference, or harshly called disinterest. While many have always looked fondly on the Macron kits at Selhurst Park, it can be seen as something of step back into the past with a relatively lesser-known manufacturer taking over from the more recognisable Puma.
Many Palace fans itch for a return to the days of the Adidas stripes to be once again clad down the arms of our starting XI. Despite this, the newly released away shirt is certainly original and has a lot to like about it, and our home kit while it is typically taking its time to be released is hotly anticipated. However, I digress. This article is not about Macron but a look back over our recent history of some of our finest kits.
No matter how our near future pans out, the last ten years at the club have been a high-point of our history – multiple FA Cup runs including the final and semi final last season, the signing of some of our best ever players, a real intention to develop and improve as a club and perhaps most importantly going into our tenth consecutive season in the top flight of English football in perhaps the best league in the world. This is almost unimaginable for a club that flirted heavily with liquidation and non-existence in 2010.
So here’s a look at some of the most memorable kits of our recent Premier League era.
HOME 2013/14 SEASON
Palace’s first kit back in the Premier League. A shift from the traditional red stripes and continuing the trend of the yellow trim from the year before, this kit is best associated with Dwight Gayle’s antics in the infamous ‘Crystanbul’ night to upset Luiz Suarez at Selhurst. It is also the first kit to don the clubs newly designed crest – a sleek modernisation to fit us into the top flight 
that has truly come to symbolises our Premier League consistency this last decade. The kit still has a Championship feel about it, with the ‘Gac.com’ sponsor that took us up still emblazed across. The shirt has many great memories attached to it and seeing our Championship heroes ball-out in the Premier League, even without our old star-boy Zaha. Despite a turbulent season, with Holloway’s exit in October meaning Tony Pulis guided us comfortably to an eleventh-place finish. In this shirt, Palace established themselves as a club who were here to stay.
HOME 2015/16 SEASON
Macron’s return to the tradition stripes the season before continued here, with a very ‘Premier League’ feeling kit. The muted red and blue stripes gave the kit a dangerous and modern feel. The obnoxiously large and uncomfortable square-shaped ‘Mansion’ sponsor was something of an eye-sore, but rarely do sponsors m
ake a kit look better anyway. While the trend of the hints of yellow throughout the kits at this time weren’t often favourites amongst fans, the additions on this kit are minimal and enhance the kit rather than distracts from the prominence of the iconic red and blue. This kit, of course, is iconic as the FA Cup final shirt – serving to cement Jason Puncheon’s legend status amongst Palace fans for scoring in the Final against Manchester United and up until the 110th minute giving Palace fans genuine hope at their first piece of top silverware. It’s one I would never want to sell (even if it’s only worth about a tenner these days).
HOME 2018/19 SEASON
Some kits become etched into history because of moments on the field, and this shirt is certainly no different. 2018/19 was a great year for Palace shirts, and the home shirt is no difference, with the faded stripes of red and blue make the players look much faster than they were. The yellow trim here is a welcomed addition as it does not o
verpower the red and blue. However, Andros Townsend’s Puskas Award nominated strike at the Etihad means this shirt will be imprinted into Palace folklore forever. A shirt’s beauty is just as much about how it looks as it is about the memories and emotions attached to it – Andros’ pin-point volley into the top right of a hopeless Ederson’s net was enough to no doubt cause some serious but worthwhile injuries in the away end.
AWAY 2018/19 SEASON
Puma’s debut kits were something special. Many opposition fans even had this away kit amongst the bets kit of the season. The sash and sharp white of the main body of the shirt really made heads turn and even made the unavoidably heinous ‘ManBetX’ sponsor as unnoticeable as possible. The sash is also a throwback to many classic Palace 
kits, with the sash being first donned into Palace kit in 1976 by the likes of Jim Cannon, with the sash then being an almost permanent feature for a decade. This kit is also remembered fondly for Zaha’s double at the King Power Stadium against Leicester in a 1-4 away win as well as the away win at Manchester United, with a sneaky Van Aanholt finish putting Palace 2-1 up in the last few moments at Old Trafford . The shirt was a finely balanced modernisation of an iconic era for Crystal Palace shirts.
HOME 2020/21 SEASON
Puma continue their streak of quality kits. This home shirt seemed light and agile, with the famous red and blue stripes being stopped midway through the chest; the players looked like the Red Arrows darting up and down the wing. In a mature and dominant season by Wilfried Zaha who frequently took the captain’s armband, as well as the debut 
season for Ebere Eze and a breakout season for Tyrick Mitchell – this season saw the building blocks be placed for Vieira’s forthcoming French Revolution at Palace. Also, happily, the ‘ManBetX’ sponsor was finally removed in favour of the classier ‘W88’. The removal of any yellow trimmings also makes the shirt look more streamlined and classic, with fewer of the markings of modern kits, Palace looked to get back to basics in 2020/21 and this kit reflected that greatly.
How people feel about the look of a kit is, of course, subjective. Palace have been very lucky over the last decade to have worn some beautiful shirts and made enough magical moments to make them iconic. Macron are yet to release the new 2022/23 Home kit, so let’s all hope it is a kit we can all justify spending £55 on.
