Innovations in high-end fashion have always consisted of new trends and new styles being brought out on the runway by designers. These styles and trends are then used by other designers in following seasons. While lots of innovations have emerged on to the runway the past two years (resurgency of the 70s, more androgyny, looser and more flowing silhouettes), little changes have come from designers alone in the world of high end footwear. Derbies, boots, high top sneakers, and trainers were all exhibited, but without much experimentation or new ideas. This was understandable, as the goal of a runway show is to present the direction a house or designer plans to head in for a season and generally the focus is on the garments being worn, with shoes as an afterthought. Who would have expected that one of the largest facilitators for innovation in high end footwear would be Adidas?
Rick Owens
Adidas, Nike’s biggest competitor in sportswear, has had collaborations with multiple designers starting roughly two years ago. Nike has had none, save for a single collab with Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci, and as a result of this, Adidas’ popularity in the fashion world and internet fashion forums has risen significantly. Of all the designers the sportswear giant worked with, the Raf Simons and Rick Owens collaborations were unsurprisingly the most talked about, as both designers were and still are extremely popular within the fashion community.
In the latest Rick Owens x Adidas collection, the creative use of the Superstar silhouette, turning the traditional shelltoes into ankle and full-length boots, as well as the use of springblade technology in well crafted sneakers showed the integration of sportswear ideas into fashion-forward pieces of footwear. Angular sneakers were created that appeared to have come straight from a mainline Rick collection. The idea that pieces bearing Adidas branding (albeit small branding) could be worn cohesively in outfits with mainline Rick Owens pieces was completely unheard of. The Rick Owens x Adidas line was a true successful integration of sportswear and fashion, and it upholds that with each collection.
Rick Owens x Adidas Springblade high top sneakers in metallic silver
On the other hand, Raf Simons took an entirely different approach when crafting each Raf Simons x Adidas collection. A large divide was created between lovers and haters of the Raf x Adidas line for two reasons.
The first source of controversy was the intentionally over-designed silhouettes such as the Ozweego 2 and the Response Trail, which were the forefront of the collection. These were an extremely unconventional deviation from the normal idea that designer shoes had to be sleek and luxurious, and as a result many did and still do call the Ozweegos “Sketchers” or “dad shoes”. Still, many loved the borderline irony of the shoes and loved the bursts of excitement and color they brought to an outfit.
Raf Simons x Adidas Ozweegos in cream colors
The second source of controversy was the Raf Simons x Stan Smiths. Raf Simons put his own touch to the classic Adidas Stan Smith silhouette in a very subtle way. Instead of three perforated dotted lines along the sides of the shoes, he put a dotted R. Also, the Stans were presented in a number of Raf Simons x Adidas exclusive colorways. These colors included red, grey, baby, blue, and even pink for their first season. The only way to obtain these specific colors on the Stan Smith silhouette was to buy the Raf Simons x Stan Smiths. The controversy for these shoes came in on the price tag. For exclusive colors and a designer name, a higher price on than the normal $75 Stans was of course expected. However, many were shocked when the Raf Simons x Stan Smiths retailed for around $450. The material was the same, or had no difference anyone was able to make out. Still, like the Ozweegos, for each hater there was someone who loved the colors and exclusivity enough to pay the hefty price tag.
Raf Simons x Adidas Stan Smith in baby blue
With these two unique and unconventional collaborations making their mark over the past couple of years, other designers have been quick to collaborate with Adidas and other sportswear brands have looked for designer collaborations of their own. Adidas worked with Japanese designer Juun J and smaller sportswear brand Puma has collaborated with label Alexander McQueen. With the success that has come from Adidas’ collaborations, hopefully more sportswear brands and designers are inspired to come together and innovate even further with the combination of two unlikely styles.
