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
Sean Wotherspoon Reveals The Best Look Yet At His adidas ZX 8000 SUPEREARTH
Upon joining adidas, Sean Wotherspoon made sustainability his signature, spawning the SUPEREARTH collection whose recycled and earth-conscious materials first dressed the ever-iconic Superstar. And now,...
Pharrell Adds Pops Of Color To The adidas Tokio Solar Hu
In the past two months alone, Pharrell and adidas have released a collection’s worth of NMD Hus, taking little breaks as they continued week-to-week. But...
HANON Looks Toward The North Sea For Its adidas Consortium ZX420 Collaboration
The well-respected adidas Consortium program has made a number of notable stops throughout 2020. And as the year nears its end, the collaborative platform has...
Donovan Mitchell, Fresh Off Massive Contract Extension, Gets His adidas Shoes Made After Favorite BODYARMOR Flavor
Following only days after his $195 million dollar contract extension with the Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell is preparing a highly limited collaboration with both BODYARMOR...
Prada And adidas To Debut The Luna Rossa 21 Soon
Back in November of last year, Prada and adidas officially announced their partnership, one that would further bridge luxury with sportswear. But by the end...
Noah Brings Camo And Cheetah Prints To The adidas Gazelle
Following their five-part capsule with Vans, Noah is bringing both camo and animal print to the adidas Gazelle. Though a companion piece to their extensive...
Space Travel Themes Continue With The NASA x adidas NMD R1 SPECTOO
NASA and adidas aren’t strangers to one another, with the former entity helping the latter launch the Ultra Boost 2020 in November 2019. For their...
Pharrell And adidas To Release An All-White NMD Hu “Human Race” On November 25th
After dressing up in Triple Black, the Pharrell x adidas NMD Hu is opting for the other end of the tonal spectrum, its upper’s now...
Pam Pam London Adds Hairy Leopard Panels To Their adidas ZX 1000
For the A-ZX Series’ 13th installment, adidas has offered up the ZX 1000 silhouette to women’s sneaker retailer Pam Pam. An essential “wildcard,” the collaboration...