Adidas Originals: Walk This Way!

You want respectable contemporary clothing with oldschool appeal? Adidas is the way to go! Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf “Adi” Dassler...

From “My Adidas” to “a.d.i.d.a.s”

Innovation was also at the root of one of modern street culture’s biggest staples: the Adidas Superstar. Introduced in 1969, the sneaker was immediately seen as revolutionary thanks to is low-top cut, the rubber toe protection (now known as the infamous “shelltoe”) and the non-marking soles. Top NBA players like Kareem Abdul Jabbar sported and championed them. But it wasn’t until 1986 that the Superstar should find its way into the street- and ultimately into pop-culture. Run DMC, who dressed on stage like they would in the street thus being precursors of what would later become streetwear, released their song “My Adidas” as a response to an anti-sneaker rap song by Jerrald Deas called “Felon Sneakers”. What came after is pretty much history. The Superstar became one of the most popular sneakers of all time, Adidas became immensely popular within the hip hop community (can you imagine Missy Elliott without an Adidas training suit and Superstars?), even stars like Madonna started wearing the brand thus making it fashionable for the mainstream, and it’s broad appeal became evident when the hard-metal band Korn released the song “a.d.i.d.a.s”. Today, sneaker heads go crazy over limited edition Superstars, other models like the Stan Smiths are huge hits also, and their sportswear is a staple of every streetwear head’s collection. From sports technology to limited edition sneakers popular from Tokyo over Paris to New York: Adidas has truly come full circle.