USMNT, Nike launch World Cup kits inspired by stars and stripes motifs and a 'Where's Waldo' look

Nike unveiled the U.S. men's national team's World Cup jerseys on Monday, producing two distinct styles that borrow from the American flag's stars and stripes imagery ahead of a tournament on home soil.

The jerseys offer "something for everybody," Nike's global product director Ronnie J. Stewart said, the stripes kit serving as the bolder of the two designs while the stars kit is more understated. The duality is the result of a process that kicked off two years ago, a process that ran longer than usual because of the importance of designing a batch of memorable looks for a World Cup host.

"It's kind of crazy that you can technically make a person and birth the person faster than creating an epic, epic jersey collection," Nike global football apparel senior designer Yazmin Rosete, who was pregnant and went on maternity leave during the design process, said. "But it's not because we're necessarily, not-equipped. We have a team of craftsmen. It's insane. It's that we just wanted to give ourselves enough time to make sure that we have all the innovation checked and then all the design should complement that innovation."

The long runway included player input from start to finish, players like Weston McKennie, Sergino Dest, Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun offering insightful feedback along the way. Nike initially interviewed the players individually on what playing for the U.S. meant to them, later presenting them with different patterns and colors before coming back with more complete visions. It was through that process in which the stripes kit became a no-brainer, the players wanting something that made their fans easy to spot in the stands.

"I know a few of the lads said they liked a 'Where's Waldo?' theme and obviously, when they revealed the kit, that's exactly what they did, so that was pretty cool," Balogun said. "I think my personal input, I just wanted it to be unique. I wanted it to be something where when you're gifting the jersey to friends or family, and they're wearing it, hey're excited and they have the feeling that this jersey's extremely unique and as we're one of the host nations, I felt there was a big emphasis to make sure it stood out from the other nations."

Nike's design team was actually not allowed to use retro imagery when conceptualizing their World Cup kits but the stripes kit calls back to a look the USMNT wore from 2012 to 2014, affectionately known by the fanbase as the Waldo jersey. Rosete, though, said Nike's design team tried to balance heritage with reinvention, all while working with a certain freedom because the USMNT do not have a fixed look for a home jersey like other countries do. In the end, she believes the stripes kit reflects the team that will eventually wear it.

"You can't just work in a vacuum, ignoring that aspect of heritage because heritage is always there and it carries over so the reinvention comes with – you're representing the U.S.A.," she said. "I want to show up. What aspect do you want to represent? And this team really is diverse. They're fun and wild, and they're hard-workers, and that is, I feel like that's very reflective of this country … What is more iconic than the U.S. flag or the hoops, stripes?"

The stars jersey, meanwhile, provides a counterbalance to the more declarative stripes look. It is defined by subtle details that become more apparent the closer you look – it initially presents as a deep, dark blue kit from a distance, but a subtle star pattern covers the whole thing, offering a sleek look that has its own admirers in the USMNT's player pool.

"Me personally, I prefer the away kit, actually," Balogun said. "I just like the stealthiness to it. It's got so much hidden details. It's got the black stars, but you can only see them in the right sort of lighting, and it's such a beautiful kit … The moment I saw the black kit, I was like, 'Wow, I can't wait to play in that.' That's something different, that's something unique. You don't really see a lot of black kits at such a high level."

Look was equally as important as feel for Balogun, several players offering feedback to Nike as the design team worked on the performance aspects of the jerseys. Nike's selection of World Cup kits were designed with their new Aero-FIT performance technology, the new fabric is more breathable than ever before after finding a way to create recycled fabric from their own industrial waste.

"I think how it looks when you're obviously wearing it," Balogun said. "It's important for me as a player, when I'm wearing anything, just to feel good. That helps performance, I think, more than people know. Just the feel -- you don't want it to be too baggy, you don't want it to be too tight, you want the shorts to sit right on top of the socks, stuff like that."

All 27 U.S. national teams will wear both jerseys, which will go on sale on Monday on Nike's website and at select retailers in North America before becoming available globally on March 23.

The USMNT will debut the new kits later this month in friendlies against Belgium and Portugal.