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
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...
adidas Originals Heads “Into The Metaverse” With A Special Superstar
adidas Originals has unveiled its latest NFT-inspired project: the adidas Superstar “Into the Metaverse.” Covered in an understated “Halo Blue/Core Black/Solar Yellow” color scheme, the...
Where To Buy The Bad Bunny x adidas Campus Light “Brown”
Bad Bunny has arguably fallen from grace, but the Puerto Rican superstar continues to churn out new projects with his adidas family. Before August rolls...
The Winged Dragon Of Ra Gets Its Own adidas Superstar Collaboration
In late September 2022, adidas announced a partnership with none other than Yu-Gi-Oh!, the beloved franchise created by Kazuki Takahashi. Over its first two releases,...
The adidas Forum Low “Watermelon” Releases On July 15th
Over the last three years, the adidas Forum Low has become the brand’s marquee silhouette celebrating 1980s basketball designs. Recently, the low-top silhouette emerged in...
Color-Shifting “Solar Green” Animates The adidas Orketro 2.0
The “dad shoe” trend that took flight a handful of years back hasn’t gone away. In fact, the trend has given way to designs like...
Tee Grizzley Unveils One-Of-One adidas Forum Low “Dodge Hornet”; Raffle Via NTWRK
The world of sneakers has gone from niche hobby to cultural touchpoint over the last few decades. Recently, the adidas Forum has been used as...
Wales Bonner Honors Jamaica With adidas “Land Of Wood And Water” Collection
A breakthrough collaboration of 2020, the Wales Bonner x adidas partnership continues into the Spring/Summer 2023 season. Prepped under the banner “Land of Wood and...
The adidas Stan Smith Luxe Gets Ready For Summer In Pristine “Cloud White”
As one of the brand’s most iconic silhouettes, the adidas Stan Smith has accomplished a lot over the last half-century. Ahead of summer, the man-turned-shoe...