adidas

adidas, also known as The Three Stripes Brand, is a German sportswear company founded in 1949 by Adolf “Adi” Dassler. With roots in track and football, it has become a global player within the sneaker industry over the past 70 years.

With influence spanning football, basketball, tennis, skateboarding, fencing, and other sports, the company’s first performance-related breakthrough occurred in 1936 within the running space. Jesse Owens famously wore Dassler’s revolutionary canvas and rubber spiked running shoe in the Summer Olympics held in Germany that year. And while Owens’ record-breaking performance at the global competition brought adidas attention, the brand hadn’t yet found its identity; the spikes didn’t feature the brand’s now-signature 3-Stripes logo. (adidas acquired this branding from Finland’s Karhu in 1952.)

The German company achieved similar attention in subsequent decades within both the basketball and tennis spaces thanks to the Superstar (1969) and Stan Smith (1973), respectively. Other made-for-sports models like the adidas Top Ten (1979) and adidas Forum (1984) similarly became lifestyle staples in New York, Boston, Chicago, and other cities. adidas’ Superstar became the unofficial shoe of hip-hop in the 1980s largely due to RUN DMC’s superstardom. (The shell-toe was the best-selling sneaker in North America in 2016.) While less popular stateside, running silhouettes like the SL 72 (1972) and ZX 500 (1984) boast devoted fans of trainers across Europe and Asia. These silhouettes have experienced resurgences throughout the decades, and are now offered under the adidas Originals banner.

Recent years have seen 3-Stripes-branded sneakers soar in popularity, in large part because of the Kanye West led Yeezy sub-label and UltraBOOST, as well as BOOST and adidas 4D cushioning. The German company has also pioneered high-fashion collaborations, hosting Yohji Yamamoto’s Y-3 imprint since 2003. In 2020, classic silhouettes were reimagined by Prada and Craig Green. Elsewhere, partnerships with Beyoncé’s IVY PARK, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Jonah Hill, Pharrell and others ensured adidas remained the global behemoth it has been for decades.

Throughout 2024, the Three Stripes will surely continue its run as a proponent of the mix between sportswear and fashion. On this end, the brand signed FEAR OF GOD‘s Jerry Lorenzo to drive the creative and business strategy of its basketball category, culminating in the release of the Fear of God Athletics adidas Basketball 1, a shoe set for plenty of releases as the year draws on. It’s also been a banner year for adidas Basketball in terms of their signature athletes, with the German giant releasing Anthony Edwards’ AE1 & James Harden Vol. 8, while continuing a push for the Trae Young 3 and D.O.N. Issue #5.

Scroll below for the latest release dates and information on what adidas has in store for this year.

adidas

Hender Scheme and adidas Originals To Release The NMD, Superstar, And Micropacer

Hender Scheme rose to prominence by ripping off some of the most iconic sneaker designs in luxury form through vachetta tan leathers. That’s not a...

By Patrick Johnson August 17, 2017
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adidas Originals Teams With Stonewall UK To Support LGBT Community With “Pride” Pack

Nike has their “Be True” campaign and adidas Originals has their “Pride Pack”, each collecting proceeds for efforts to promote worldwide acceptance for the LGBT...

By Patrick Johnson June 2, 2016
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afew Brings A Wooden Shelltoe To Their adidas Superstar Collaboration

The adidas Superstar‘s 30th anniversary celebration has come correct in the originality department. Seemingly every week we’re blessed with a new take on the lifestyle...

By Patrick Johnson July 28, 2015
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Pharrell Curates adidas Originals Supershell “Sculpted” Collection

Pharrell and adidas Originals weren’t going to settle for just one installment of their upcoming Supershell Collection, as today the formidable duo returns with what...

By Patrick Johnson July 24, 2015
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Pharrell Previews Upcoming adidas Supercolor Collection

adidas Originals is taking a literal approach to the return of the adidas Superstar by hiring actual superstars to help promote the classic shell-toe. Pharrell...

By Patrick Johnson March 19, 2015
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Japan’s HYKE Teams Up With adidas Originals

adidas Originals has featured the adidas Stan Smith and adidas Superstar throughout the past two years rather prominently. The Stan Smith‘s bring-back was one of...

By Patrick Johnson March 18, 2015
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