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.
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adidas
Pharrell’s adidas Samba Humanrace Drops In Six Colorways On May 15th
Pharrell x adidas Humanrace is one of the most fruitful sneaker partnerships of the modern era, and it’s never failed at capturing trending styles and...
Pharrell’s Humanrace x adidas NMD S1 MAHBS Collection Grows On November 27th
As adidas top celebrity endorser, Pharrell Williams has spent the better part of the past few years experimentally expanding the design ethos of the adidas...
The Pharrell x adidas Samba Humanrace Appears In Three Understated, Fall-Appropriate Colorways
While he may be Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, Pharrell has certainly not forgotten about his friends over at the Three Stripes. Following the success...
The adidas Humanrace Samba “Colors By Pharrell” Collection Recalls The “Supercolor” Pack From 2015
Pharrell and adidas have spent the better part of the past few years reimagining the NMD. And though 2023 has started much the same way,...
Where To Buy The Pharrell x adidas NMD S1 RYAT “Olive”
Pharrell Williams may have recently been appointed creative director of Menswear at Louis Vuitton, but the Virginia-native continues churning out projects with his adidas family....
The Pharrell x adidas NMD S1 RYAT “Focus Olive” Releases Feb. 24th
Pharrell has a deeply intimate relationship with the NMD, having crafted numerous renditions over the course of his partnership with adidas. And despite recently ushering...
Pharrell’s adidas NMD S1 MAHBS Releases January 27th
Pharrell spent the better part of 2022 reconnecting with nature, an experience that thus inspired his collaborative work with the Three Stripes. And after releasing...
Pharrell’s adidas NMD Hu Animal Print Gets A Greyscale Makeover
Fresh off the launch of JOOPITER, Pharrell Williams has revisited his adidas NMD Hu Animal Print collaboration, bringing a tame greyscale arrangement to it. Primeknit...
Pharrell’s adidas NMD S1 RYAT To Release In New “Cardboard” Colorway
This past year, adidas has gone to great lengths to reinvigorate the NMD line-up, introducing two, forward-thinking sequels: the NMD V3 and the NMD S1....