The All Blacks jersey is one of the simplest and most recognisable uniforms in world sport, and one of the most enduring symbols in New Zealand sport.
• Black jersey. Silver fern. All Blacks.
But look closely at photographs of the team from different eras and another story begins to emerge.
The silver fern has changed. The words beneath it have changed.
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The key milestones are easy to follow: the black jersey and silver fern became established in the 1890s; manufacturer branding arrived with Canterbury in 1993; Steinlager appeared on the playing jersey in 1994; adidas became kit supplier in 1999; AIG moved commercial sponsorship to the centre of the shirt in 2012; and Altrad became the front-of-jersey partner from 2022.
For most of the team's history, there was no manufacturer's logo until Canterbury appeared and was later replaced by adidas.
Commercial sponsorship arrived on the playing jersey with Steinlager in the 1990s, disappeared from the shirt when adidas took over, and later returned much more prominently with AIG and Altrad.
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The story of the All Blacks jersey begins long before modern sponsors and sportswear brands.
New Zealand representative rugby adopted the black jersey and silver fern in the 1890s, building on an association between the fern and New Zealand representative teams that stretched back even further.
By the famous 1905–06 tour of Britain, Ireland and France, the black jersey and fern were firmly established as the visual identity of the team.
• No Canterbury logo.
• No adidas logo.
• No commercial sponsor across the chest.
There wasn't even an “ALL BLACKS” wordmark.
It was simply the black jersey and the silver fern worn over the heart.
Early All Blacks jersey: black shirt and silver fern, without manufacturer or commercial branding.
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By the 1980s, the silver fern was not only a sporting emblem but an increasingly valuable part of the All Blacks identity.
In 1986, designer Dave Clark was commissioned to create a stylised fern that could be commercially protected as the game's merchandising and licensing opportunities grew. It appeared above the words:
This was more than a cosmetic change. The fern was developing from a national rugby emblem into a clearly defined All Blacks brand.
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Another subtle but important change followed.
The wording beneath the fern eventually changed from:
to simply:
From 2003, “New Zealand” was removed from the emblem.
It also demonstrated just how powerful and internationally recognisable the team's identity had become.
By then, the All Blacks name had become sufficiently distinctive internationally to stand on its own.
“All Blacks” was enough.
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For most of All Blacks history, there was no prominent manufacturer's branding on the playing jersey.
That changed in 1993, when the familiar CCC logo of Canterbury of New Zealand appeared on the right breast.
It was a significant departure from tradition. Today a manufacturer's logo on a rugby jersey seems completely normal, but at the time it was a notable change to the famous black shirt.
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All Blacks jersey, 1994: Canterbury in the centre and Steinlager on the right breast.
Steinlager had sponsored the All Blacks since 1986, but in 1994 it became the first commercial sponsor to have its logo appear on the All Blacks playing jersey.
The predominantly red Steinlager flash became one of the best-known pieces of All Blacks jersey branding of the 1990s, remaining on the playing jersey from 1994 through 1998.
The Canterbury logo moved from the right breast to the centre of the jersey to make room for Steinlager on the right breast.
It was relatively restrained compared with modern sponsorship, but symbolically it was significant.
The famous black jersey now carried both manufacturer and commercial branding.
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In 1999, another major change arrived - adidas replaced Canterbury as the All Blacks' official kit supplier.
The Steinlager logo disappeared from the playing jersey when adidas took over in 1999, although Steinlager's wider sponsorship relationship with the All Blacks continued. The adidas logo appeared on the right breast.
What began in 1999 developed into one of the longest-running and most recognisable kit partnerships in international rugby.
For an entire generation of supporters, adidas has simply been part of the All Blacks jersey.
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In 2012, AIG (American International Group) became New Zealand Rugby's front-of-jersey sponsor, placing its branding prominently across the centre of the All Blacks jersey.
AIG is a multinational insurance company.
This represented a much bigger visual change than the comparatively discreet Steinlager branding of the 1990s. For the first time, a large commercial mark occupied the centre of one of world sport's most famous shirts.
AIG remained the front-of-jersey sponsor through 2021, with Altrad replacing it from 2022.
All Blacks jersey, AIG era: adidas, the silver fern and prominent centre-front AIG branding. Worn by Sonny Bill Williams All Blacks #1108
From 2022, Altrad replaced AIG as the official front-of-jersey sponsor.
The Altrad Group is an international business specialising in industrial services and construction equipment.
That created the familiar arrangement seen on regular All Blacks playing jerseys in the Altrad era:
Modern All Blacks jersey: adidas, the silver fern and ALL BLACKS wordmark, with ALTRAD across the front.
Compare that with the fern-only jersey from more than a century earlier, and the transformation is extraordinary.
Yet it remains unmistakably an All Blacks jersey.
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One version of the All Blacks jersey often looks noticeably different from the shirt worn in ordinary Test matches: the Rugby World Cup jersey.
At a Rugby World Cup, tournament-specific branding applies, and the competition mark appears on the jersey.
The All Blacks' normal commercial front-of-jersey sponsor is absent from the Rugby World Cup match jersey.
For example, the 2015 jersey carried the Rugby World Cup mark, adidas branding and the All Blacks fern, but no AIG logo.
The same pattern was followed in 2023, when the Altrad logo was absent from the World Cup jersey.
2015 Rugby World Cup jersey: the tournament mark appears on the chest and the normal commercial front sponsor is absent.
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Each mark on a modern All Blacks jersey performs a different job.
The silver fern and ALL BLACKS wordmark identify the team.
The adidas logo identifies who made the jersey.
The Altrad logo identifies the principal commercial front-of-jersey partner.
At a Rugby World Cup, the competition mark identifies the tournament and the normal commercial front-of-jersey sponsor is absent.
But only one symbol has remained central throughout the story - the silver fern.
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Perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is not how much the All Blacks jersey has changed.
It is how little its essential identity has changed.
• Manufacturers have changed.
• Sponsors have arrived and departed.
• The wording beneath the fern has changed.
• Rugby has moved from amateurism to professionalism.
• Jersey technology has progressed from traditional heavy fabrics to sophisticated modern performance materials.
But the basic idea remains extraordinarily simple - a black jersey and a silver fern over the heart.
Strip away Canterbury, adidas, Steinlager, AIG, Altrad and the tournament branding and that's what remains.
The commercial marks help tell us when the jersey was worn.
The silver fern tells us what it is.
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If you're trying to date an older All Blacks jersey, the chest is often the quickest place to start.
A fern-only design points to an earlier era. Canterbury branding indicates the 1990s, with Steinlager identifying the mid-to-late 1990s playing-jersey period.
An adidas logo dates the shirt from 1999 onward.
AIG across the centre indicates the 2012–2021 era, while Altrad identifies jerseys from 2022 onward.
Rugby World Cup shirts are the important exception because the normal commercial front sponsor is removed and tournament branding is added.
Small design details, collars, fabrics and replica-versus-player specifications can narrow the date further, but the combination of fern, manufacturer, sponsor and tournament mark provides an excellent first guide.
Replica jerseys sold to supporters have not always been identical to player-issued jerseys, so individual retail shirts can vary in their branding and detailing.
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At RYOS, we've been selling All Blacks and New Zealand rugby merchandise since 1993, giving us a first-hand view of more than three decades of changes to the famous black jersey.
We've seen the jersey evolve through the Canterbury and Steinlager era, the arrival of adidas, the AIG years and the Altrad era. Styles, fabrics, sponsors and details will continue to change, but the essential identity remains remarkably constant: black, the silver fern, and the All Blacks.
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