There are beautiful shirts. There are historic shirts. And then there are shirts that manage to be both at once.
adidas chose not to reinvent one of football's most iconic kits. Instead, they did precisely the opposite: they respected the identity of Celtic and used subtle details to tell one of the club's greatest stories.
At first glance, everything feels familiar. The traditional green-and-white horizontal hoops continue to dominate the design, accompanied by the white collar and the three green stripes on the shoulders. It is exactly what any supporter expects to see when they think of a Celtic shirt.
But it is in the details that this edition takes on a different dimension entirely.
Gold replaces the usual green on the adidas logo and badge, lending the shirt an instantly commemorative feel without tipping into excess. The centrepiece is, naturally, the special Lisbon Lions 60th Anniversary crest, with the inscription "60th Anniversary" — a direct reference to the historic European Cup triumph in Lisbon in 1967. It was on that day that Celtic became the first British club to win the competition, defeating Internazionale 2–1 with a side made up entirely of players born within a short distance of Glasgow.
The balance of colours is worth singling out. The gold appears only where it makes sense, enhancing the kit without competing with what truly matters: the hoops. The result is sophisticated, classic and immediately recognisable.
It is equally commendable that the tribute does not rely on excessive graphics, hidden patterns or obscure references. Those who know the history will instantly understand what this shirt means. Those who do not will simply see one of the most elegant kits in world football.
It is impossible to look at this shirt without being reminded of another landmark Celtic release: the 2017/18 edition, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that European triumph, which you can find in my personal collection. Nine years on, the concept returns in an even more refined form, proving that not every commemorative shirt needs to break with tradition in order to be special.
For a collector, this is precisely the kind of shirt that tends to age well. It is not dependent on the trends of the moment and will always be associated with one of the most important chapters in Celtic's history and in European football.
A piece that shows that, sometimes, the best way to innovate is to respect what is already perfect.