Belgium’s World Cup Kit Turns René Magritte Into a Global Visual Code
Belgium’s 4–1 victory over the United States on Tuesday night did more than secure a place in the World Cup quarterfinals. It also sent one of the country’s most recognizable artistic references into circulation before a worldwide audience: a Belgium away kit designed by Adidas as an homage to Surrealist painter René Magritte (1898–1967).
The jersey draws on Magritte’s 1931 painting Voice of Space (La voix des airs), but it does not simply reproduce the work. Instead, Adidas translated the painting’s floating metallic bells into a repeating field of pink and blue soccer balls. Thin horizontal lines run through the fabric, echoing the markings of a pitch, while the shirt’s pale robin’s egg-blue base recalls the open skies that recur throughout Magritte’s paintings.
A second reference appears beneath the collar, where the phrase Ceci n’est pas un maillot (“This is not a jersey”) is printed in Magritte’s familiar script. The line is a pointed nod to The Treachery of Images, the artist’s famous image of a pipe accompanied by the words “This is not a pipe.” In other words, the kit does what Magritte often did: it unsettles the viewer just enough to make them look again.
Belgium has used its away kit as a cultural signifier before. Earlier editions referenced the country’s cycling culture at Euro 2016, the Tomorrowland music festival at the 2022 World Cup, and Hergé’s Tintin at Euro 2024. The Magritte version feels especially apt because it treats the jersey as an idea, not just merchandise.
That distinction matters. Rather than placing a famous artwork on a shirt and calling it a collaboration, Adidas borrowed Magritte’s visual language and his taste for contradiction. The result is a uniform that rewards a second glance — and, with Belgium still alive in the tournament, that glance is now being taken by millions.
The match itself was equally decisive. Belgium had already survived a 3–2 extra-time win over Senegal in the Round of 32, while the USMNT advanced with a 2–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Belgium, currently ranked eighth in the world, now faces Spain, ranked third and among the tournament favorites.
