Paris Saint-Germain - Crest and Colours

Crest and Colours

The first crest of Paris Saint-Germain appeared in 1970 and consisted of a ball and a vessel, which are powerful symbols of Paris. It was used during the following three seasons. PSG's historical crest appeared in 1973: the red silhouette of the Eiffel Tower with the white royal cradle of French king Louis XIV and the fleur de lys emblem between its legs on a blue background with white edging. It was the first time that the symbols of both Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye were represented on the same crest. According to former coach Robert Vicot, the crest, although claimed by Daniel Hechter, was instead been invented by amateur coach and professional designer Mr. Vallot. It was him who had the ingenious idea of placing the birthplace of Louis XIV (born in the Château de Saint-Germain) underneath the Eiffel Tower. The crest partly inspired Hechter to design PSG's historical shirt. The historical crest represents Paris through the Eiffel Tower and Saint-Germain through the royal cradle and the fleur de lys taken from its coat of arms. The crest also reflects the merger of two clubs, Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain, into a new club. Former PSG major shareholder Canal+ was the first to try to replace the historical crest in 1992. The new model had the acronym ‘PSG’ and underneath it ‘Paris Saint-Germain’. This caused the supporters' anger and the historical crest returned to PSG's shirt. Nevertheless, Canal+'s design persisted and was mainly used for the club's communication until 1996. The historical crest suffered a makeover in 2013 under PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi's approval with a renovated and modern design. PSG shareholder Qatar Investment Authority wanted to take full advantage of the city's global appeal and the new crest clearly brought to the fore the name ‘PARIS’ which is written in big bold letters. On top of that, the cradle which marked the birth of Louis XIV was discarded and in place the fleur de lys emblem sits solely under the Eiffel Tower. Also, the founding year 1970 made way with ‘Saint-Germain’ taking its place at the bottom.

The first strip design of the fledgling Paris Saint-Germain, founded after a merger between Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain in 1970, was mainly solid red. Fashion designer Daniel Hechter collaborated with the club to design the historical shirt which would become a strong symbol of the club in 1973. PSG adopted the red and blue colors of Paris FC and combined them with the white of Stade Saint-Germain. The shirt was blue with a red central vertical bar framed by white edgings. Legend has it that Daniel Hechter was so impressed by Ajax's eye-catching strip, he used it as the inspiration for PSG's kit, though he changed the colour to match the French flag. Since then, it has been the club home shirt, despite proposed implementations of new designs, with the main reason being the supporters' rejection. However, the tone and shade of the red and blue has changed over time, as has the dimension and alignment of the red central band. Former PSG president Francis Borelli was the first to try to replace the Hechter design in 1982. The new home shirt, very similar to that of Olympique Lyonnais, was mostly white decorated with two fine red and blue vertical bands. Under pressure from fans, the home shirt returned to the original Hechter design in 1995. Le Coq Sportif became PSG's first official equipment provider in 1970 and manufactured the kits until 1975, when Adidas took over from 1975 to 1976, before a return to the first brand until 1977. Pony was the supplier between 1977 and 1978, before another joint effort with Le Coq Sportif until 1986. Adidas returned until 1989, at which point Nike took over supply duties and they remain the equipment supplier to the present day.