The color isn't a surprise, neither are the thin horizontal stripes. Though I think this is the first time I've actually noticed that the stripes are not straight. In fact, they're not really stripes at all, but rather intersecting curvy lines.
Chelsea FC 15-16 Third Kit (via @Footy_Headlines) #CFC pic.twitter.com/N3cK3Slvi2
— Daniel Childs (@SonOfChelsea) July 30, 2015
It's hard to get a plain black shirt wrong, and adidas certainly managed to put together something pretty simple and inoffensive with this third shirt. The stripes add a bit of visual interest as does the color gradient on the front of shirt (the top is lighter than the bottom), though the otherwise monochrome color scheme really makes the red of the Yokohama 'Y' stand out like an angry boil.
If you click over to Footy Headlines and scroll down, you'll also happen upon a leak of the shorts for the third kit. These were new to me.
According to @Footy_Headlines these the shorts for the third kit. Hmmm... pic.twitter.com/WDSbUtRPkY
— Dávid Pásztor (@D_Peezy) July 30, 2015
Surprisingly, they're not plain black, and my initial reaction to these is that they're trying way too hard. The gradient seems to be reversed here (darkest at the top, lightening towards the bottom to match the white socks); it will be interesting to see what effect all that creates when worn together with the shirt.
One thing's for sure however, the third kit is better than last year's over-the-top effort.