Venezia have built a reputation for turning football shirts into fashion statements. Their latest NOCTA creation takes that reputation somewhere rather unexpected: the fish market.
Unveiled on 26 October, the club’s new 2026/27 fourth kit is called Fish Bones, and it takes inspiration from Venice’s historic Rialto Fish Market and the marine life that has shaped the city for centuries.
It is another unconventional release from a partnership that rarely seems interested in playing by football’s usual design rules.
The result is a turquoise shirt covered in X-ray images of fish skeletons, combining a distinctly modern aesthetic with one of Venice’s oldest working traditions.
Fish Bones, X-Rays and a Very Different Football Shirt
The first thing that catches the eye is the colour.
Venezia’s signature Venezia Acqua provides a vivid turquoise foundation, evoking the waters surrounding the city.
Across the fabric, dark skeletal graphics create an unusual repeating pattern. These are not conventional illustrations of fish, but X-ray-style images that reveal their bones, spines and delicate internal structures.
The effect is almost abstract from a distance. Look more closely and the inspiration becomes unmistakable.
A traditional black polo collar adds a surprisingly classic touch, while dark sleeve cuffs and NOCTA branding complete the look.
The club’s winged crest sits prominently on the chest, with stylised Venezia lettering appearing beneath.
There is an interesting contrast between the traditional football shirt silhouette and the experimental graphics. NOCTA has also drawn on punk aesthetics, giving the design a rebellious quality without losing its connection to Venice.
Why Venice’s Rialto Fish Market?
To understand the shirt, you have to look beyond football.
The Rialto area has been central to Venetian trade for centuries, with fish and seafood playing an essential role in the city’s economy and daily life.
Venice’s relationship with the lagoon is fundamental to its identity. Its waters have provided food, supported trade and influenced the development of a city unlike almost anywhere else.
The Rialto Fish Market represents that relationship particularly well.
Although modern Venice is often viewed through the lens of tourism, architecture and luxury, the market remains a working part of the city.
Traders continue a tradition rooted in the lagoon’s maritime history, connecting contemporary Venice with generations of people who depended on its waters.
That makes it an intriguing source of inspiration for a football shirt.
Instead of focusing on the familiar landmarks of Venice, Venezia and NOCTA have chosen something more closely associated with the city’s everyday working life.
A Photoshoot That Brings the Story to Life
The accompanying Fish Bones campaign was photographed by Clelia Cadamuro at the Rialto Fish Market itself.
Rather than relying on elaborate studio sets or conventional football imagery, the campaign places the shirt among fish counters, stacked crates and the reflective surfaces of the market.
The setting reinforces the design’s connection to marine life.
Fish scales, skeletal structures and the colours of the surrounding water all find their way into the visual story.
It also creates a striking contrast.
NOCTA’s contemporary sportswear aesthetic meets a traditional Venetian marketplace, with the shirt acting as the connection between two very different worlds.
How Far Can Venezia Take Their Kit Designs?
Venezia have become one of the most recognisable names in contemporary football shirt culture.
Their partnership with NOCTA has continued an approach that places considerable importance on visual identity, fashion and the city’s cultural heritage.
The fourth shirt provides another opportunity to experiment beyond the more familiar expectations surrounding home and away kits.
It is also worth considering how much of Venezia’s appeal comes from the designs themselves and how much comes from the way they are presented.
We previously explored exactly that question when examining their 2026/27 away shirt:
This latest release offers a particularly interesting test.
Fish skeletons are hardly an obvious starting point for a football shirt. Yet the choice has a clear connection to the city, while the execution produces something immediately recognisable.
The subject is unusual, but the reasoning behind it is surprisingly straightforward.
A Shirt That Could Only Really Belong to Venezia
The most successful locally inspired football shirts often tell a story that would make little sense anywhere else.
Venezia’s new fourth kit fits that description.
The lagoon colouring, fishbone imagery and Rialto Market campaign combine to create a design that is unmistakably connected to the club’s home.
There are other examples of clubs drawing on their surroundings to create distinctive shirts. Go Ahead Eagles’ River IJssel-inspired third kit is one such release:
Venezia, however, have taken the idea into rather more experimental territory.
A football shirt covered in X-ray fish skeletons might sound like a difficult concept to sell.
Somehow, between the turquoise fabric, traditional collar and wonderfully unusual subject matter, Venezia and NOCTA have made it work.
It is another addition to a growing collection that challenges what a football shirt can look like, and what parts of a city’s history deserve to be celebrated.
Image credit: Venezia FC and NOCTA. Campaign photography by Clelia Cadamuro.
Join the conversation:
What is the most unusual inspiration you’ve ever seen used for a football shirt?
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