Nike doesn’t add an element to a uniform w/o a reason. TCU got frog scales for 2019. We got twisty numbers & a black collar (I really do believe it represents a cardinal, but there was never any Nike-splain for these unis). Sometimes it’s a hit, sometimes a miss. I think ISU & TCU are both hits.
I think the reason Nike doesn’t stripe everything up anymore (for some teams) is b/c it makes it easier to mix & match elements. Agree.
& for that very reason, I think the black “storm” unis were a miss. With the exception of the helmet that you can easily swap out stickers & facemasks, the jersey & pants are completely monochromatic with no gold/cardinal to tie to the other uni-pieces.
At the very least, I hope they replace the I-State logos w/ gold/cardinal logos. I think that will make it possible to use them w/ all the other uni-pieces. See below.
I would agree w/ most here that seem to prefer a gold pants/gold helmet option. Include a gold shoe/sock & these unis will be !
You've explained this very well. However, I am OK w/ them leaving the black pant and jersey alone, keep it monochromatic. I think it will just look better when they go all black. Also, if they want to go 'mostly all black' but add a bit of cardinal and gold, like you said, the black helmet can be easily modified w/ c/g stickers and red facemask. Then just add some red to the socks or other accessories.
I think the monochrome black pants will mix and match just fine w/ other combos, as I've illustrated here recently (c/c/b red socks, b/c/b black socks), the socks playing a key element.
But what to do about the monochrome black jersey? You are right, it won't mix and match well w/ other elements, combos. To me that's OK, don't try to match it. Don't put cardinal and gold elements on the black jersey In order to try and make say a c/b/c look good. I don't think it's going to look good anyway, so don't even try.
Like I've said before, there are so many combos, and better combos out there, especially if they add a gold set. And there are only so many games (6 Home, 6 away roughly). Why mess around too much w/ the black jersey? Leave it alone.