Local USL League Two and W sides Ballard FC and Salmon Bay FC released their third kits ahead of the 2023 season, continuing their artist collaboration tradition by working with Seattle-based artist Victor Meléndez.
There’s a unique twist with this kit, though, where the design features a color shift effect through 3-D glasses where either the skull can be emphasized in blue or a sacred heart with an eye motif in red.
Originally from Mexico City, Meléndez collaborated with Ballard and Salmon Bay after previous work with the Sounders, Kraken, and the FIFA World Cup. The shirt inspiration combined Meléndez’s Mexican heritage with the nature from the Pacific Northwest.
See the Meléndez Kit gallery below:
The kit itself is a tribute to the Latino community, which shapes the football culture in Seattle and Washington State.
This is the fifth local artist kit collaboration that’s been done by Ballard and Salmon Bay FC, where the previous kits are The Henry Kit (2022), The Dozfy Kit (2023) in Ballard’s USL League Two championship-winning season, The Stevie Shao Kit (2024), and last year’s Sarah Robbins Kit.
All photos courtesy of Ballard FC & Salmon Bay FC
