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Chris Wright, Toe Poke author
Venice kicked off the season in style, literally, on Sunday as they took to the pitch in their new home kit for the 2024-25 season, designed by Nocta, a Nike spinoff co-founded and led by rap superstar Drake.
Drake has confirmed he has invested in the newly promoted Serie A club after joining global sports-focused firm APEX Capital. It was also announced that the Canadian rapper will sponsor the club’s 2024-25 kit through Nocta.
After a tumultuous week at the board level, Venezia surprised fans with their new Drake-sponsored kit ahead of the release of any official images or release materials, having lost 3-1 to Lazio in Rome in their league opener on Sunday night.
Shortly after news of Drake’s involvement broke, a deal was signed between the two parties last week, making Nocta the official kit supplier for Venezia.
The club previously sourced their kits from Kappa, who took the helm in 2021 and have since transformed the Winged Lions into one of the most stylish clubs in European football with a series of achingly chic ensembles created in collaboration with New York-based graphic design studio Bureau Borsche. Venezia then further solidified their haute couture credentials with a high-fashion photoshoot of the kits set against some of Venice’s most spectacular backdrops, from its historic canals, cathedrals and bridges to the idyllic lagoon that surrounds the ancient city.
But the productive deal between Venezia and Kappa came to an end in the summer, leaving the club to prepare for life in Italy’s top flight in a plain shirt with no branding or sponsorship.
With the new Nocta deal approved, the Nike sub-brand hastily applied the three-pronged logo to the same regular kit, creating a sort of white “special edition” strip in time for Venezia’s Coppa Italia match against Brescia, before continuing to put the finishing touches on Venezia’s new 2024-25 range.
While the official launch has yet to take place, Venezia emerged from the tunnel of the Stadio Olimpico wearing their new Nocta home strip, revealing it to viewers for the first time.
As you can see, the shirt retains Venezia’s traditional club colours of black, green and orange, with a faint round diamond graphic on the body (which appears to be borrowed from Nocta’s “trident” branding). The graphic is also unusual in that it appears to only extend halfway down the torso.
Last year’s gold version has been replaced with a simple black button-up collar, with orange and green trim. It also includes two-tone cuffs and side panels that extend from the lower arm to the hem.
While it’s certainly comfortable to look at on its own, how does Venezia’s new 2024-25 Nocta home kit compare to the best Kappa has ever offered the club? We’ll happily let you be the judge on that score.
