Like clockwork, Bayern Munich have heralded the arrival of a distinct autumnal chill in the air by launching their new special edition kit ahead of this year’s Oktoberfest in the Bavarian region of southern Germany.
Oktoberfest, or “Weisn” as it is known locally, is the traditional folk festival that has been held in Munich every autumn since the 1800s to celebrate the turning of the seasons, with parades, traditional dress, fairs, song, dance and — perhaps most famously — prodigious amounts of local beer.
Bayern are no strangers to the celebrations, with players and staff regularly getting involved by donning their finest lederhosen and gathering at Theresienwiese, the large open park in the centre of Munich that serves as the official home of Oktoberfest, for a party.
With the festival almost upon us, Bayern have revealed their 2024 Oktoberfest kit and the results are really rather understated. The shirt is a dark grey colour, inspired by the felt shooting jackets usually worn with lederhosen, with the trim added in a tasteful sand/cream.
Just to top things off, the fabric is then imbued with a geometric diamond pattern that mirrors the blue and white lozenges found on Bayern’s club crest.
This is the fourth year in a row that Bayern have released an official “Wiesn” kit, though the lineage of the theme can be traced back to 2013-14 when the club launched an off-white and forest green away kit that was directly inspired by traditional lederhosen, particularly the brown “leather” shorts.
The first designated “Wiesn” kit then followed eight seasons later, in the autumn of 2021, when the club produced a special edition green-and-gold strip ahead that featured an ornate embroidered club crest decorated with Edelweiss flowers.
The Oktoberfest kit was then reinstated and made a permanent fixture in Bayern’s kit range the following season when the German giants revealed a smart, wine red design that carried the same Edelweiss-themed embellishments.
The theme was then expanded on in 2023-24 when Bayern ramped things up with a pale olive shirt covered in floral pattern that was taken from hand-drawn sketches of Alpine mountain flowers.
It was also the first Oktoberfest kit that star striker Harry Kane had the task of modelling. And judging by the big, beaming smile on his face, we think he rather enjoyed the privilege.