Football’s Most Fashionable Club Now Plays in NOCTA
The 2024/25 season marks a transitional period for Venezia FC.
The Italian side has returned to Serie A, having been promoted from the second tier of Italian football with a third-place finish, it has appointed a new first-team coach, Eusebio Di Francesco, and it has a new producer for its famously stylish football kits. Change is afoot for football’s most fashionable club.
Officially parting ways with Kappa, a partnership that created some of the best-looking, retro-inspired kits ever, Venezia FC has signed a deal with Drake and Nike’s NOCTA sub-brand.
Venezia FC made the news official on August 8, naming NOCTA as the club’s official technical partner. And, on the same day, Venezia FC played its first competitive game of the new season against Brescia in the Copa Italia (Venezia unfortunately lost 3-1) providing a look at what the two have cooked up.
Venezia presented a minimal 2024/25 away kit, playing in an all-white strip with little ornamentation. On the end of both sleeves is a red and green striped trim while Venezia’s badge, located in the center of the shirt, combines with NOCTA’s three-starred logo.
Compared to the retro-inspired shirts Kappa previously made for Venezia, complete with stripes or colorful patterns, it's a very somber design.
The Italian side’s home shirt was also unveiled on August 18, as the newly promoted side played its first game of the season against Lazio (unfortunately, resulting in another 3-1 loss).
The home shirt is a similarly minimal affair. Offered in Venezia's signature black color, the kit has a more traditional composition with Venezia's badge on the left of the shirt, NOCTA branding to the right, and a new sponsor's logo placed in the center, Cynar Spritz.
NOCTA's involvement with Venezia comes after it was discovered that Drake was an unlikely figure who helped the team avoid bankruptcy last season.
“I got a call from Brad, co-owner of Venezia and a good friend of mine. He explained the problem to me in a simple way: Venezia has to raise €10m in a couple of weeks, and then at least €30m in a few months, or the club will go bankrupt," Matte Babel, Drake’s chief brand officer, recently told GQ Italia.
“Venezia is an incredible city, and Venezia has always been a special club. I spoke to Drake, then Brad and I discussed the details of how we could help. Within two weeks, we had a deal, and raised the money needed to pay salaries and avoid bankruptcy.”
However, the change in kit producer also mirrors other changes behind the scenes at Venezia. The brains behind the football team’s fashionable image, former Chief Brand Officer Ted Philipakos, left in 2021 to join Athens Kallithea FC. The beautifully shot campaigns, lifestyle-focused styling, and nostalgia-inducing designs that introduced many football fans to Venezia are all Philipakos‘s trademarks (and he’s brought them to Athens).
Venezia is now entering a new era together with Drake’s NOCTA label. Football's most fashionable club is rebranding.
