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

Disney’s Create 100 Auction Features Unique Items From adidas, Virgil Abloh Securities, And Others

Disney is finally 100. To celebrate a century of creating magic, the Burbank, Calif. headquartered company has partnered with a number of creators to develop...

By Jovani Hernandez October 12, 2023
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adidas Originals Celebrates 50 Years Of Hip-Hop With “Run-DMC” Day, Block Party Series, And More Community Events

August 11th marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the music genre and culture “birthed” in the Bronx that’s taken over the world. adidas, an early...

By Jovani Hernandez August 14, 2023
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adidas Presents The Consortium Cup, A Global Sneaker Design Competition

Today, adidas announced the Consortium Cup, a four-week sneaker design tournament featuring 16 iconic shops from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The...

By Jovani Hernandez February 14, 2023
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Pharrell Launches JOOPITER By Auctioning Off 20 Years’ Worth Of Sneakers And Other Personal Goods

Pharrell Williams has gone on to inspire a generation of new artists and creatives, but he’s remained one-of-one. Over the course of his professional career,...

By Jovani Hernandez September 29, 2022
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Bad Bunny Shares Unreleased adidas Forum Buckle Low At “P FKN R” Museum

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known professionally as Bad Bunny, isn’t the typical superstar. After an incredible run of accolades, which includes releasing three platinum-certified albums...

By Jovani Hernandez December 13, 2021
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SHINZO Paris Is Raffling 220 Pairs Of The adidas Forum ’84 Hi “Kintsugi” For €2

Over the last seven months, adidas has funneled notable energy into one of its most iconic silhouettes from the 1980s: the adidas Forum. In addition...

By Jovani Hernandez June 16, 2021
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adidas Originals And Detroit’s Mr. Alan’s Celebrate 40th Anniversary Of Top Ten

Although the adidas Top Ten is a worldwide classic, its legacy is especially rich in Detroit — where it’s the de facto sneaker for hustlers,...

By Sneaker News February 27, 2019
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Size? is Restocking A Bunch of Their Collaborations and More For New Manchester Store Opening

UK sneakerheads – this one’s for you. World renowned Size? is broadening their horizons by opening up their new Manchester store this Friday, February 27th....

By Patrick Johnson February 25, 2015
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Sneaker Con Atlanta September 2014 On-Feet Recap – Part 2

Atlanta was the latest stop for Sneaker Con and the great Peach State didn’t disappoint in terms of their on-feet selections. Incase you missed Part 1,...

By Patrick Johnson September 22, 2014
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