Can adidas Make Its Classic Dad Shoe Cool?
When the adidas Adistar Cushion 3 launched in the early naughts, the excitement didn’t stretch far beyond eager runners wanting a comfy ride on 10-kilometer runs. But fast forward to 2024 and the shoe is starting to capture a more fashion-oriented audience (or, at least, adidas is trying to make that the case).
The old-school running shoe has all the features that have proven to be a big hit for other labels turning their Y2K running shoes into stylish sneakers: it has a chunky profile, mesh base, and paneling that looks both sporty and retro. So, it makes sense why adidas is giving it a marketing push — right? Well, kinda.
Since the Adistar Cushion 3 was re-released in late 2023, the shoe has been the subject of a great-looking gradient colorway produced with Japanese retailer atmos and, most recently, an upcoming collaboration with Sporty & Rich.
Sporty & Rich, the fashion label owned by internet personality Emily Oberg, has proven its sneaker credentials by creating a hyped adidas Samba collaboration just as the shoe was reaching peak coolness. Now, it has set its eyes on the Adistar Cushion 3.
Similar to its adidas Samba collection, the collaborative sneakers are pretty indistinguishable from the general release Adistars available in most good retailers and, in some cases, on discount racks. However, that doesn’t matter: adidas will be betting on the lure of Oberg and her label to bring in sales.
But is the pull of Oberg’s cool enough to make this the next big dad shoe rivaling ASICS and New Balance’s popular retro footwear? Only time will tell, but I fear this isn't the time for more vintage running shoes.
It’s been five years since New Balance launched a campaign with the tagline “Worn by Supermodels in London and Dads in Ohio,” a moment that solidified dad shoes as the biggest trend in sneakers. But all good things come to an end and now, as the slim sneaker movement builds momentum, the days of the bulky dad shoe feel numbered.
I’m not having a dig at the adidas Adistar, I’m actually quite the fan of its colorways (especially this sunset-esque pair), it just feels like a difficult time to establish a new chunky running shoe as the next must-have model.
We're at a point of chunky shoe saturation and it has built an appetite for more sleek runners like the SL-72 (which was just dubbed the hottest sneaker out).
Instead of enlisting top-name collaborators to create adidas Adistar sneakers, it’d feel more apt to have Sporty & Rich take on adidas’ super-slim Taekwondo model.
