Adidas Consortium launches 'sneaker exchange'

Adidas' premier sportswear division, Adidas Consortium known for producing innovative products, is introducing the ‘sneaker exchange’, which will see leading retailers collaborating together on limited-edition trainers.

The initiative will see one monthly drop over the course of 2017, in which two selected retailers will work together to create a bespoke sneaker pack of two silhouettes. Each release will draw on models new and old, explained Adidas, and consumers can expect Campus and EQTs to get redressed in modern materials, while contemporary performance models like the UltraBoost are drawn away from the sporting arena.

Retailers set to take part includes Alife, A Ma Maniere, Bodega, Colette, End, Footpatrol, Fruition, Invincible, Juice, Kith, Naked, Overkill, Packer, Slam Jam, Sneakerboy, Sneakersnstuff, Social Status, Solebox, Undefeated, United Arrows and Sons, Starcow and Wish.

These collaborations will present retailers with a new and interesting set of challenges, the sportswear brand stated: “Pushing the boundaries in which ideas are shared, pull each partner from its safe space, push its sense of collaboration into new and exciting territory.

“We will see sportswear retailer’s work with fashion-oriented stores; women’s retailers collaborate with menswear shops. In a world where borders are being dissolved by digital advancements, Adidas are seeking to get their partners to embrace these changes to find new ways of approaching work together.”

Adidas Consortium launches limited-edition trainers with Colette and Undefeated

The first designs will be unveiled during men’s fashion week in Paris later this month featuring a collaboration between Parisian retailer Colette and Los Angeles streetwear brand Undefeated. The limited-edition sneakers have been reworked from the EQT Support and Campus 80, and draws inspiration from respective surroundings and the idea of “playing opposites.”

The Campus 80 sneaker features a premium white leather upper with camo deboss effect and an off-white rubber sole, with blue accents on the lacing and heel, while the EQT Support has been described as the moodier, “night time counterpart”, and comes in a deep navy suede and textile upper with black leather overlays. Both models feature co-branded tongue labels and insoles laces.

The sneakers launch on January 19 at Colette and Undefeated, ahead of a general release on January 28 at No.42 Paris, No.74 Berlin, and global Adidas Consortium accounts. The Campus 80 will retail for 110 pounds, while the EQT Support will be priced 125 pounds.

Images: courtesy of Adidas Consortium