Lionel Messi’s New Kith & Adidas Collab Revisits His Number 19 Era

Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Kith and Adidas Football team with Lionel Messi on a nostalgia-driven collection that revisits the football icon’s early number 19 era.

The Fashionisto

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Published May 25, 2026

Lionel stares straight ahead in a white and light blue Argentina-style adidas home jersey with the number 19 on the chest, a gold 15-year Kith anniversary crest at the heart and black-and-white drop sleeve stripes, a black paneled Tango football tucked under his right arm against a dark studio backdrop
The Kith x Adidas Football collection opens with a 19 home jersey that nods to Lionel Messi’s earliest Argentina years. Photo: Kith

Kith and Adidas Football are entering the 2026 World Cup era through the one athlete who still feels universally recognizable across borders, generations, and football loyalties, Lionel Messi. Their new collaboration arrives ahead of this summer’s World Cup and marks both Messi’s 20th year on the global stage and Kith’s 15th anniversary. The range pairs on-pitch performance gear with tailored lifestyle pieces that reflect how football culture now extends far beyond the stadium.

Back view of Lionel in the same Argentina-style adidas home jersey, MESSI lettered in slim outlined type above a number 19 set between blue and white panel stripes, a small Messi sigil at the upper back and a navy and blue Tango ball held against his hip
MESSI 19 lettered across the back ties the modern jersey directly to the player’s mid-2000s Barcelona breakout. Photo: Kith
Lionel stands on turf in the full Argentina-style adidas home kit with the number 19 jersey, black shorts trimmed in light blue, white over-the-knee socks and metallic blue gradient F50 cleats, holding a paneled Tango ball at his side
Worn with black shorts and the new metallic blue F50, the kit appears as a complete uniform. Photo: Kith

Lionel Messi x Kith x Adidas Football

Jerseys inspired by Messi’s early number 19 years sit alongside double-breasted suiting, wool tracksuits, washed denim, and premium leather accessories. The pairing shows how modern menswear increasingly frames football as both athletic language and social identity. The collection also revisits adidas silhouettes tied to Messi’s career, including the return of the COPA Mundial 17 UltraBOOST and multiple F50 interpretations that pull directly from World Cup memory.

Motion-blurred shot of Lionel heading a white and gold paneled Tango ball in a cream adidas training jersey with a blue MESSi logo at the chest and a 15-year Kith anniversary crest at the heart, paired with matching mesh shorts on a dark turf set
A heading shot shows the campaign’s link between vintage Tango footballs and the reissued training kit. Photo: Kith
Lionel sits cross-legged on turf in a cream training jersey and matching shorts trimmed in red, blue, and yellow at the collar, sleeves, and hems, white KITH-lettered tube socks, and a pair of off-white adidas Samba sneakers with three-stripe inserts in red, blue, and yellow on each foot
Cream training kits and color-blocked Sambas push the football references off the pitch and into everyday dress. Photo: Kith
Lionel juggles a chrome and black football off his right knee in a navy crewneck sweatshirt with sky blue inset panels and white adidas three-stripes, matching navy shorts with a Kith crest, knee-high tube socks and bright blue F50 cleats, on a darkened turf set
Training-room references run through the collection’s sweatshirt-and-short pairings, finished with the latest F50 silhouette. Photo: Kith
Lionel poses against a slate backdrop in a black tonal jacquard track jacket with white adidas three-stripes down the arms, a white block-letter chest graphic and a circular Kith x adidas anniversary crest at the heart, layered over a white knit polo and black trousers
A tonal jacquard track jacket frames the collaboration as lifestyle dress. Photo: Kith
Lionel stands full-length in a black ripstop nylon adidas tracksuit with cyan piping and white three-stripes on the arms and legs, a large blue MESSi wordmark across the chest, hands tucked into the jacket pockets and black-and-blue trainers below
Lifted from the player’s own logo, the MESSi tracksuit appears like a turn-of-the-millennium kit drop. Photo: Kith

Ronnie Fieg understands that contemporary menswear audiences are buying emotional association as much as clothing, particularly when football memory is involved. The 2006 references point to Messi’s Barcelona breakout, the number 19 era when he was still emerging as the player who would redefine the sport. That period of grainy YouTube compilations, early internet fandom, and pre-algorithm sports obsession still pulls real emotional weight for millennials who watched him become mythological in real time.

Lionel sits on a stool in an oversized washed indigo adidas denim trucker jacket with white three-stripes down both arms and a small Kith heart patch, layered over a cream knit overshirt and dark trousers with white side stripes, hands resting on his knees
A washed denim trucker jacket translates the Adidas piping language into casual outerwear. Photo: Kith
Lionel leans back in a bentwood chair in a relaxed black single-breasted blazer and matching trousers worn over an Argentina-striped knit, crossed at the ankle to show baby pink suede adidas Gazelle sneakers
Tailoring meets retro Adidas with a black suit fronted by pink Gazelle sneakers. Photo: Kith
Lionel stands in a black notch-lapel blazer with side cuff stripes, a cyan and slate graphic adidas jersey collared underneath, a black supporters scarf with sky blue three-stripes and white lettering draped across his shoulders, hands tucked into black trouser pockets
A supporters scarf layered over tailoring is the collection’s clearest argument for football as social uniform. Photo: Kith

Kith is ultimately selling participation in football’s shift from subcultural passion into a defining force in modern menswear, a transformation that will only intensify with the 2026 World Cup.

Lionel faces forward in a black cotton t-shirt printed with a faded portrait of himself resting his ringed knuckles against his chin, a small white adidas trefoil at the upper right of the print and a Kith woven tab at the lower edge, paired with black pleated trousers and a sleeve of arm tattoos visible at left
A graphic tee printed with Lionel Messi’s image closes the campaign on a memorabilia note. Photo: Kith

Before Messi’s turn in the spotlight, Jonah Hill fronted Kith’s summer 2026 campaign

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