This is a big moment for Adidas Originals.
The popular retro-inspired subcategory of the German sports brand is introducing a new collection called A-Type, an elevated assortment of some of the brand’s most iconic pieces.
The launch collection features the Superstar sneaker, the Firebird tracksuit, and the Airliner bag but created using premium leather in partnership with leading European ateliers. They are offered in a monochromatic color palette and complemented by silver Trefoil jewelry. Prices will range from $500 for a Trefoil ear stud to $1,500 for a leather track jacket.
Torben Schumacher, global general manager of Adidas Originals, basketball and partnerships, who is spearheading the launch, said the company has been working on A-Type for “quite some time.”
“It’s really special to us to take our most iconic products, elevate and ‘premium-ize’ them with no limits, no worry about margins, and let creativity go,” he added.
He said Adidas Originals has offered elevated products in the past but they’ve always been in partnership with luxury houses and other fashion brands. This is the first time it is being done internally.
“We felt the time was right to do it,” he said.
Paloma Elsesser in A-Type.
Courtesy of Adidas
He said the plan is to eventually add it “as a constant in our range,” but that’ll be after the initial launch is reviewed and analyzed. “We’re really keen to get the feedback on how this has been received and then see how we can shape this collection moving forward.”
Schumacher stressed that A-Type is not intended to replace collaborations with other companies. “We’re very proud to be partnering with exciting creatives, and really believe this is an important part of who we are as a brand,” he said. “But we really felt this is an important opportunity to tell our own story, our own unconstrained Adidas story, and provide the most holistic version of our most iconic products to add to our portfolio.”
Pusha T
Courtesy of Adidas
He said there are a wealth of options within the Adidas archive that would lend themselves to becoming a A-Type product in the future. “That’s the beauty of our brand — and maybe the curse,” he said. “We’re spoiled for choice. There are so many amazing pieces from our rich history across so many different sports.”
And Schumacher admits to having some personal favorites including the Stan Smith. “Watch the space,” he said with a smile. “There’s definitely more in the pipeline.”
But right now, the focus is on the three launch products.
The Superstar, which was introduced in 1970 and soon became a favorite of the hip-hop community, was reimagined under the A-Type lens by working with Italian artisans to remake its prototype design. The handmade sneaker features a premium leather upper with a debossed canvas texture on the three stripes, cashmere shoelaces with detachable lace tips, silver-plated lace jewelry, and a Lightstrike Pro midsole.
The sneakers are packaged in a molded shoe box accompanied by wooden shoe trees and white gloves, similar to what is provided to visitors to the Adidas archive.
The Firebird tracksuit, which was designed for track athletes in the 1980s, has become a street-style favorite in the years since. For A-Type, the outfit — pants, top and shorts — has been created from leather and there are complementary cashmere-blended regular-fit T-shirts offered as well.
Selena Forrest
Courtesy of Adidas
The Airliner bag was first used by athletes in the 1970s to carry their shoes and A-Type has reworked the piece in two models, one large and one small, both of which are made from leather and feature a detachable belt, cotton lining and premium hardware.
In addition to these items, A-Type has created a collection of hip-hop-inspired jewelry that includes sterling silver pendant necklaces, rings and earrings, each placing the Trefoil front and center.
As part of the launch of A-Type, Adidas has created a look book of images by Gabriel Moses and styled by Matthew Henson featuring pioneering figures in sport, fashion, entertainment and music including DJ Hank Korsan, Pusha T, Tyshawn Jones, Selena Forrest, Fiffany Luu and Paloma Elsesser.
The company was planning to hold an event Monday night to show off the product and the images of these “longtime brand partners and new ones.”
The event was intended for friends and family of the brand, who are the only people who will be able to buy the initial collection. “We don’t want to rush to market,” he said. “It really pushes the price points we usually have with our brand so it’s important to provide the right context, the right place and the right time to make this available to our consumer base,” Schumacher explained.
The launch of A-Type during New York Fashion Week also drew the attention of PETA, which protested the leather pieces that the group claimed were created “from the sliced-off skins of tormented ostriches and other animals.”
Schumacher said that the leather used to create the products was not ostrich as PETA claimed and the protest was not very long in duration.
Adidas Originals was created in 2001 to reimagine key pieces within the company’s archives. The collection, which has become popular in street culture, uses the company’s Trefoil logo that was introduced in 1972. Over the years, Adidas Originals has partnered with Run D.M.C., Y-3, Kith, Pharrell Williams’ Humanrace, Sporty & Rich and others.
The division is a bright spot for Adidas. In the third quarter, the corporation reported that sales in the Adidas Originals, Basketball and Skateboarding division increased 20 percent.
Schumacher said that the launch of A-Type is also not intended to replace Adidas Originals products. “We’re super excited where we are right now to see the resurgence of, and the love for, our most iconic products,” he said. He said to see products such as the Samba and Gazelle shoes “embraced and loved by so many consumers around the world is a great moment. That’s why we feel the time is right to now put this collection out, and there are lots of exciting ideas that we have in the brand to tell the story of so many iconic products and also modernize them.”
