Justin Bieber designs reversible Maple Leafs jersey

Never say never to a reversible jersey.

On Tuesday the Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled their reversible, Next Gen third jersey designed by pop superstar and lifelong fan Justin Bieber in conjunction with his apparel company drew house and adidas.
"My love for the Maple Leafs has always been a big part of who I am, and my passion for the team, and the passion of millions of fans, is stitched into this Next Gen sweater," Bieber said. "I'm grateful to the Leafs for the chance to team up again to create something so authentic for the team and its fans."
The Maple Leafs introduced the Next Gen game nights in 2017 to celebrate young fans and unite people of all ages through hockey.
"Since its inception during our 100th anniversary celebrations in 2017, the Next Gen game has become an annual team event where all our fans, young and old come together to celebrate, and in some cases introduce and share their passion with our next generation of Maple Leafs fans," Maple Leafs president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan said. "We are excited to be able to take Next Gen to another level with this special uniform designed with our next generation in mind. The opportunity to collaborate with Justin and drew house to create such a unique alternate sweater will make it even more special for our fans and the team."
It is also the first reversible sweater in North American professional sports, featuring a black-and-blue color combination with the Maple Leafs crest on one side, and the drew house motif inside the Maple Leafs crest in yellow on the other side.
The Maple Leafs will wear the jerseys (blue-and-black side) in their game against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

"They wanted to have an influencer like Justin Bieber who has a passion for hockey and a passion for the Leafs so we were excited about what that is because of the global iconic following that he has and we kind of went to work with adidas," said Brian Jennings, NHL chief brand officer and senior executive vice president. "adidas sits at that cross-current of youth, sports and lifestyle so they bought in immediately."
The Next Gen uniform is the 15th alternate uniform worn by the Maple Leafs in club history.
"Third jerseys -- the intention when we develop these -- it's an excellent opportunity for our clubs to really explore new identities and colors, Jennings said. "In this instance, it wasn't about a new identity but really doing a collaborate effort and being able to turn the jersey inside out where you can have this special moment of discovery."
The Maple Leafs have one of the most iconic logos in professional sports, so respecting their history while also looking toward the future was important.
"Our Original Six, one of the things that makes their brand iconic is that it doesn't change a lot," Jennings said. "I do think younger kids and I do know that Leafs fans really enjoy this and it's a nod to an Original Six franchise but one that's definitely doing a great job looking to diversify and get younger with their fanbase."
The jerseys also include the Toronto skyline woven into the bands of the arms on the sleeves.
"I call them elements of discovery," Jennings said. "We don't necessarily see it when the cameras pull back but once you purchase the jersey, you can see the skyline in the sleeves. Those are the things I think the fans will really like and it adds to the storytelling aspect as to why they changed this. They are proud of the city and the skyline of Toronto and where they play."
The jerseys can be purchased on
shop.realsports.ca
,
nhlshop.com
,
nhlshop.ca
,
adidas.com
,
adidas.ca
and at the NHL Shop in New York City.