When Did adidas' Super Shoes Also Become Super Stylish?
Nowadays, running shoes are fashion. Performance sneakers have been normalized as everyday shoes that can still give you a swift takeoff if you need it. And amongst the names leading today's stylish super shoe pack, adidas and its Adizero sneakers are speeding up to pole position.
This is familiar terrain for adidas but a new venue for the Adizero.
While adidas itself has been around for over 75 years, its Adizero sneaker line is only 20 years old. Four years after their debut, Adizero running shoes made a huge splash in 2008 when Ethiopian long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie laced up an adidas Adizero sneaker for the Berlin Marathon, breaking a world record by finishing in just under two hours and four minutes.
That day, Gebrselassie wore the now-iconic adidas Adizero Adios OG in a bright yellow colorway, signed and (probably) sealed in some secret adidas vault.
Earlier this year, those classic adidas Adizero sneakers made their glorious return. Not at some famous marathon, though, but at a Spring/Summer 2024 presentation from British designer Wales Bonner.
The London-based label, known for its much-hyped takes on adidas' retro sport-ish lifestyle sneakers like the Samba, sent a renamed adidas Adios OG, the "WB Adios Neftenga," down the runway.
Wales Bonner's adidas collab even revives the recognizable bold yellow colorway from the Adizero model's record-smashing '08 debut, symbolic of the adidas Adizero Adios' evolution from technical running shoe to genuinely stylish footwear option.
And it ain't alone.
Lately, we've witnessed adidas Adizero super shoes preserve their runner-ready fixings in genuinely fashionable style.
To be an adidas Adizero sneaker, you must be fast, for one (an important element since the line's inception). Secondly, adidas Adizero sneakers champion lightweight builds and peak comfort, which the brand constantly improves on with athlete feedback.
Thirdly, as of this year, the Adizero shoes are equally tuned to contemporary fashion inclinations.
For instance, adidas recently unveiled its new Adios Pro 4 and Evo SL sneakers, high-function super shoes that balance the Adizero speed with objective good looks. These sneakers were launched like any major adidas lifestyle shoe, complete with stylish editorial shots.
adidas also recently revived the Adizero PR, a formerly Japan-exclusive runner, for a wider release in October 2024. With its incredibly flat-soled design, the nearly 20-year-old Adizero PR is a surprisingly timely addition to our era of flattened shoes.
It just so happens to also be terrifically technical.
The Adizero PR's timing is likely no accident. adidas' Adizero Aruku, which is rolling out at the same time, is like an all-new chunky version of the adidas PR.
The adidas Adizero Aruku even wears PR-adjacent colorways, including a "Pure Ruby" makeup. Japanese sneaker store atmos further beautified the Aruku with a black and metallic silver colorway that made the sneaker look even more futuristic.
adidas' Adizero Aruku sneaker symbolic of bigger strategy surrounding adidas' technical performance shoes. The sportswear giant is not only advancing trendy in-line options for its running shoes but is also enlisting fashion's most influential names to make its Adizero models look extra good.
Yohji Yamamoto's Y-3 line delivered a secretly attractive spin on the adidas Prime X 2.0 Strung. At the same time, Louis Vuitton creative director Pharrell gave the Adizero Pro Evo 1 sneaker a massive debut when he wore it at the 2024 Olympics' torch ceremony.
HOKA and On deserve some thanks for this rising interest in running shoes, having racked up billions in sales and beating out established brands in the shoe game. As the niche brands' "ugly" dad shoes have become the new norm, it's ignited a friendly competition amongst rival footwear names to turn their road-running beasts into casual, chunked-up beauties.
First run clubs became the new dating apps. And now, running shoes have evolved into the new drip.
