The colour of spring

One hundred years of the hoop at VfB Stuttgart means one thing above all: tradition in white and red. These colours are inextricably linked to the Cannstatt club. However, a look at the exhibition ‘Every Jersey Tells a Story’, produced in conjunction with main sponsor LBBW, reveals that there have also been some exotic kits in VfB’s past. The ‘Colour’ section showcases colourful jerseys that break from the usual colour scheme. These bold deviations sparked some debate but have nonetheless become part of the club's history.

VfB ‘blossom’ in purple in spring 1991 

One of the most striking of these is the purple-coloured shirt from spring 1991. On 12 April 1991, on Matchday 25 of the 1990/91 Bundesliga season, VfB caused a surprise. In the away match at SG Wattenscheid 09, head coach Christoph Daum’s side ran out not in the usual club colours, but in purple for the first time. The shirt, shorts and socks were all purple. Another element added to the unusual, eye-catching design: a shortened white hoop as well as a geometric pattern positioned above it, a style typical of the early 1990s. 

The Cannstatt boys earned a 2-2 draw in Wattenscheid in their decidedly springlike outfit, and went on to finish the campaign in sixth place. 

Colours a part of VfB’s jersey history 

The exhibition ‘Every Jersey Tells a Story’, which is available to visit for free now at the Schauspiel Stuttgart, is divided into different themes. The ‘Farbe’ (‘Colour’) display cabinet is suitably colourful, revealing the other shades to have appeared on the shirt in addition to white and red. 

Black is one of the most common variations for away shirts and is on display again in the current 2025/26 season. Green jerseys marked the start of the 1992/93 campaign, and thus became the colour of the new German champions in 1992. There have been yellow strips too – normally combined with black – reflecting the colours of the city of Stuttgart. Gold, olive, grey and dark yellow have also found their way onto the team’s kits from time to time – sometimes for just a few games, other times spanning multiple seasons. They all have one thing in common: the hoop as a unifying element. It makes each of these jerseys, regardless of colour, unmistakably part of VfB – and has done so for 100 years.