"Absolutely brutal. Keep Bieber away next year": NHL fans unimpressed with 2024 NHL All-Star jerseys made in collab with Justin Bieber's fashion brand

The anticipation for the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend took an unexpected turn as fans expressed their displeasure over the newly released 2024 NHL All-Star jerseys.

The jerseys were designed in collaboration with Justin Bieber's fashion brand, Drew House. The jerseys departed from traditional designs, and featured vibrant colors of blue, red, yellow, and white. Along with bright bubble text, the 2024 NHL All-Star jerseys are aiming to bring a bold, fashion-forward look to the NHL. The fans disagreed.

Unlike previous seasons where teams were divided by division, this year's All-Star Weekend introduces a player draft. The draft will allow players and celebrity captains to select teams of 11 from the All-Star roster. The jerseys were meant to reflect a culturally relevant streetwear partnership, incorporating the traditions of individual NHL clubs with unique team shoulder patches.

NHL explains inspiration behind 2024 NHL All-Star jersey collaboration with Drew House

NHL Chief Brand Officer Brian Jennings showed enthusiasm for the collaboration. He cited the success of the previous NHL, Adidas, and Drew House collaboration for the Toronto Maple Leafs' Next Gen jerseys, which took on the world by storm with the Maple Leafs reversible jerseys they've been wearing the past two seasons.

The new All-Star jerseys will feature the NHL shield with bubble letters and enlarged dimensions and will have one of the largest crests ever on an NHL jersey at 22 inches high.

Fans took to social media to voice their criticism of the jerseys. Many fans compared the designs to those seen in children's television programs like Nickolodeon or costumes seen in Marvel movies. The departure from traditional hockey aesthetics did not resonate well with a vocal portion of the fan base.

The NHL's efforts to highlight the vibrant colors and the youthful, classic appeal of the 2024 NHL All-Star jersey collection seem unsuccessful on the day of launch. Fans have remained vocal in their dissent. The jerseys, available for purchase on various online platforms, faced scrutiny for diverging too far from the conventional uniform design associated with the prestigious NHL All-Star Game.

Adidas Director of Sports Marketing and Hockey, Nic Corbett, defended the collaboration, stating that the partnership aimed to transcend conventional uniform design and merge the realms of sport and youth culture. Despite the enthusiasm from the NHL and its collaborators, it seems as though the larger hockey community has been largely unaccepting of the youthful hockey rebrand for the 2024 NHL All-Star jerseys.