The Green Bay Packers have introduced a new old uniform, history-inspired by the threads they wore in 1923 — and paired with a leather-look, hand-painted helmet.

The 1923 Classic uniforms will debut at an as yet unconfirmed game at Lambeau Field this autumn, with the date to be announced in the coming weeks, but feature navy blue jerseys with dark gold numbers and dark gold stripes, along with tan pants and navy socks. The uniform is inspired by the Packers’ first season as a publicly-owned corporation, following a meeting of local football boosters at the Elks Club that set in motion plans for a stock sale to rescue the heavily-indebted club after a weather-plagued 1922 season had led to games being cancelled or poorly-attended. What emerged from the meeting was the publicly-owned Green Bay Football Corporation, and the funds to provide each player with matching navy blue jerseys.

Most eye-catching of all, however, the new ensemble also features, for the first time in NFL history, a hand-painted helmet designed to emulate the vintage leather look of the game’s earliest attire. At the time, leather helmets were the standard headwear for football, and the new helmets feature realistic distressing and hand-decorated leather strap and stitching effects, with a navy face mask completing the look.

While photographs showcasing the uniforms in that first year are limited, a detailed explanation of the Packers’ jerseys was published in the Green Bay Press-Gazette in September of 1923, with one column in the sports section reading: “The Bay eleven resplendent in their new jerseys, dark blue with gold striped arms, made an imposing appearance.”

The Packers have previously worn ‘classic’ uniforms, with the ‘50s Classic’ celebrating the colours of 1950-53 being an alternate between 2021-24. In earlier years, 2010-11 and 2013-14, the Packers wore historic uniforms honouring the 1929 season, the year of Green Bay’s first world championship, as well as a re-creation of the team’s uniform in the 1940s, which was worn from 2015-19. The 1923 Classic campaign is presented by American Family Insurance.