50 years of the Sash: The history – and South London takeover

Crystal Palace’s 2026/27 home kit sees the club return to the classic design from the 1970s that would become one of the most iconic kits.

To celebrate the occasion, we teamed up with our new front-of-shirt partner Temporal to paint South London red and blue with 50 sashes popping-up in various locations across the area.

From as south as Whyteleafe, to as east as Orpington – as well as Tooting, Croydon, Balham, Clapham, and many more – sashes have appeared across the area.

Of course we’ve also covered some iconic Palace locations, including the Clifton Arms, Selhurst Station and our home, Selhurst Park.

Check out our South London sash takeover in the gallery below.

The History of the Sash

The red and blue sash, which has returned on a classic white background, was first written into Palace folklore in the 1975/76 season when introduced under Malcolm Allison.

The original design was worn in 1976 during Palace’s famous run to the FA Cup semi-finals as a Third Division club, with the likes of Leeds, Chelsea – the sash debuting in a famous 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge – and Sunderland all beaten that season.

As is so often the case with football kits, memorable results and moments made the sash a classic. That particular design also featured a ‘grandad’ collar.

It still holds a place in the hearts of supporters who saw it back then, but also for subsequent generations.

Such is the love for the sash, that it has continued to make comeback after comeback down the years.

The 1977-80 kit is one of the best remembered, manufactured by Admiral. The design moved to a ‘V-neck’ collar, but with the traditional red and blue trim maintained.

It was worn on a historic night at Selhurst Park in May 1979. Palace defeated Burnley 2-0 to win promotion to the top-flight of English football on a balmy Friday night in South London, in front of 51,482 supporters – still a record for a home attendance to this day.

Although used as a design for away kits – memorably in the 1989/90 season – 2008/09 saw the sash return to the home strip.

A few fans’ favourites wore that particular design, including Paddy McCarthy and a young Nathaniel Clyne.

In 2010/11, a similar design was used this time as the away strip – a season that saw club legend Dougie Freedman return to be installed as Manager.

The Eagles sported a version of the sash in 2013/14, this time on a black background as the club’s away strip.

This version was worn as Palace secured Premier League safety for the first time in club history, featuring in a Boxing Day win away at Aston Villa best remembered for Dwight Gayle’s dramatic late winner.

In 2021/22 the sash returned, with diagonal red and blue stripes adorning the home kit.

Worn by the likes of Marc Guéhi, Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Ebere Eze, this strip was worn during the Eagles run in the FA Cup semi-finals, which included a memorable 4-0 thrashing of Everton at Selhurst Park.

Who knows what will unfold over the coming season, but the sash has form for being worn at some of the most memorable moments in Palace history.

Make sure you grab Palace's newest sash design – the 2026/27 home kit – by ordering online here.