Matt Varga There are few active brand employees with the combination of encyclopedic knowledge and a willingness to pull back the curtain than adidas’ Gary Aspden. The shepherd of adidas’ select SPZL line has just unveiled the Spring 2025 delivery, paring things down from the 10+ pair collections we saw in 2024 to just two shoes, the TRX Mesh and Handball Cup.
Beginning with the more famous of the two, the Handball Cup ushers in an amalgamation of the archival shoes that have carried that title. Certainly the composition of the modern Handball Spezial shines through, but one of Aspden’s personal favorites lends some of its hardware: the Handball Top provides the contrast overlay at the collar and sets up some natural synergy with its OG red-white-blue colorway. Some more minor touches distinguish this from the modern Handball, including a shorter and shallower T-toe.
In an interesting piece of transparency, Aspden notes that the 1-to-1 retro efforts that you’d find in past seasons is no longer the focus of the line he shepherds, prompting some compositional changes to the TRX Mesh. While the shoe’s original hardware rose to iconic status on the feet of The Who’s Roger Daltrey, a wedge sole modernizes the silhouette from first glance. From there, the base layer switches into an open-knit mesh, while the overlays opt for far sharper angles. For one final nod to the 1970s icon, a molded cutout pops on the midsole, while the blue and yellow colorway instantly ties to that bygone pair.
The adidas Spezial Spring 2025 collection is set to release on March 27th via the CONFIRMED app and partnering stockists. Expect retail pricing and a complete store list to fill out as the launch grows closer — you can stay current with all of these updates via this page and our Sneaker Release Dates landing page.
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- adidas Handball Cup SPZL @garyaspden
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- adidas TRX Mesh SPZL @garyaspden
