The Toronto Raptors are looking to their past a bit as they prepare their uniform looks for the 2020-21 season.
On Thursday, the team unveiled three of the five uniforms the Raptors will wear next season, all of which take some elements from the history of the franchise in their design.
“Uniforms do matter to players. Our team made the choice to wear the Earned jerseys during the 2019 Finals, for example,” Raptors President Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “We want to give our players — and our fans — jerseys they’re proud to wear not just because they say Raptors on the front, not just because they’re a symbol of our city and country, but because they also look great. I think that’s what we’ve achieved with these.”
The team’s new Association and Icon Edition uniforms — which are white and red — feature a new chevron across the chest which is meant to “symbolize the north, represent the team’s past achievements, and mark the path forward,” per the Raptors news release.
The Statement Edition uniforms — which are black with red accents — are meant to bring about memories of the Raptors’ old “dinosaur” uniforms with running dark grey jagged pinstripes throughout the design. It will also be the only one of the five uniforms that has the Jordan Brand Jumpman logo on the right shoulder, replacing the Nike swoosh.
Per the team, these uniforms were a collaborative effort between Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s in-house design team and Nike. The new threads are comprised of recycled PET bottles, a combination of Alpha Yarns and recycled polyester. Each uniform represents approximately 20 recycled bottles.
“As we began to think about the decade ahead, we aimed to create uniforms that not only reflected our franchise’s historic accomplishment in 2019 but also inspired the pursuit of our next championship,” MLSE Chief Marketing Officer Shannon Hosford said. “Our goal was to continue to evolve our ‘We The North’ Raptors brand identity highlighting our key chevron design, which is synonymous with the North and our championship, while also providing our fans with some added swagger while they show their support.”
As Official Partner of the Toronto Raptors, Sun Life’s logo will appear on the left shoulder of each of the team’s jerseys for the fourth consecutive season.
