JOURNEY BEHIND EVERY STAR.
COVER A close up of the one and only superstar which symbolise each every individual journey. Photographed by Corliss Neo
EDITOR’S NOTE Volume 01 Adidas Originals
To a l l individual, here’s to a new chapter of Adidas Original that is a total new concept that fits to every one of the individual.
Waking up everyday in our daily rountine ,getting ready, dressing oneself up to prepare for the day ahead of us. “What to wear?” is probably one of the question we ask oursleves everytime when we face our wardrobe. Adidas have came a long way which now also achieve to became a global brand that almost everyone could have own at least one of the property of us. We have a wide range of apparels - from head to toe. But what most symbolise here in Adidas. we believe are shoes. We creators believe that shoes symbolise one individualism at the end of the day. No doubt, Adidas Original has a wide series of shoes that stand to symbolise one culture and philosophy. And superstar is perhaps the most iconic shoes that adidas creators has ever made. Over here in this edition, we see how one individual get through their form of journey to become an one iconic postion that they aspire to be in the future. Superstar are not just purely a iconic fashion style shoes but is “someone” that we call that accompany one individualism to go through their journey and own cultural movement that shapes themselves to be one iconic star.
Corliss editor-in-chief
CONTENTS 04
Editor’s Take the message
08 Intro
CEO of the Adidas Group, Kasper Rorosted
12
14
Background of 3 stripes
Know Em’ Heritage
24
26
How it all started
To A New Creation The shift
The gang of originals
Brand Story
Journey that got us through
28
36
Embark the journey All start with Superstar, the iconic
Tribe Their belief & lifestyle
42
64
Tribe We speak
DNA & Lingo We Speak
70
Get Inspired
Campaign Created
KaspeR Rorsted Chief Executive Officer of Adidas AG
Kasper Rorsted was born in Aarhus, Denmark in 1962. He is a Danish citizen and graduated from the International Business School in Copenhagen and completed his studies with several executive courses at Harvard Business School, USA. He started his career in sales and marketing at the US high-tech companies Digital Equipment and Oracle, the first having been acquired by Compaq in 1998. From 1995 Kasper held different international management positions at Compaq and from 2001 was responsible as general manager for the company’s Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) business region. In 2002 Compaq was merged with Hewlett Packard. Before Kasper left the company in 2004 he was Senior Vice President and General Manager at Hewlett Packard, where he last headed the EMEA business with more than 40,000 employees and sales of about 20 billion euros.
In April 2005 Kasper joined Henkel as Executive Vice President Human Resources, Purchasing, Information Technologies and Infrastructure Services. From April 2007 Rorsted was Vice Chairman of the Henkel Management Board. In January 2016, it was announced that adidas AG, a German sportswear company, had appointed Kasper to its executive board, effective 1 August 2016, and as its chief executive officer, effective 1 October 2016, at which time Kasper will stand down as Chief Executive Officer of Henkel. With the position as a Chief Executive Officer of consumer goods manufacturer Henkel and had previously gained experience in various management positions with Oracle, Compaq and Hewlett Packard. Rorsted practically know and understand what he’s talking about when it comes to what consumer want and the importance of digitalisation, which, as adidas CEO, he will make a focus topic and improve the system and cooperate of adidas as a whole.
WE ARE BORN TO
CREATE NEW
we cal l it 3 stripes originals. The trefoil-symbol of Originals. It is derived from a latin word meaning ‘three leaved plant’. Due to its visibility on every major athlete at the time as well as due to its strong presence in tennis - which at the time was enjoying never before seen popularity; on athletes such as Stan Smith & Llie Nastase, by 1976 the trefoil has become one of the most popular and recognizable brand symbols in the world. With the growing popularity of the trefoil, adidas decided to relaunch all products carrying the trefoil under a new brand name in 2001. The originals brand aims at showcasing over 30 years of sports heritage in a stylish and contemporary way with it’s launched tagline - ‘Once Innovative, Now Classic, Always Authentic.’ Originals means to provide consumers with footwear and apparel that were once cutting edge sports performance, but are now stylish, lifestyle oriented products. Every Originals product is a modern reinterpretation of a classic design, which means that every originals product has a story attached to it, something that no other brand can claim.
know THEM
heritage
1950
WE MAKE THE MARK FOR FOOTBALLERS
the samba The Samba was first produced in 1950 to enable football players to train on icy or hard ground. The brand has merged a piece of sportswear and fashion to create this iconic trainer.
The popularity of the Adidas Samba trainer has caused it to transcend the soccer courts and move into a popular culture. More recently the Samba has been adapted again to become a golfing shoe. This was inspired by one of golf’s most prestigious tournaments the Open Championship edition and were made to celebrate the introduction year of Adidas Samba. Just as the shelltoe is the trademark of the Superstar, the tan colored ‘gumsole’ with suction pads is the trademark of the Sambal.
stan smith Very much at the beginning, Adidas’ Stan Smith sneaker began as a tennis shoe, the style is most commonly adopted as an everyday sneaker. Stan Smith sneakers were originally produced in 1963. The original Stan Smith consisted of white leather with a pimpled rubber outer sole. Interestingly enough, the shoe wasn’t even the Stan Smith originally. In 1965, Adidas’ classic tennis shoe was known as the Robert Haillet sneaker, after the French professional tennis player was in news.
When Haillet retired from tennis, Adidas decided that they needed a successor. American tennis player Stan Smith was suggested and the rest is history. By 1971, Adidas’ Stan Smith sneaker was one of the brand’s most promising shoe styles. The form of Adidas’ Stan Smith sneaker is typically made with white leather and the upper and laces are white in color as well. Unlike Adidas’ other shoes, it doesn’t have the famous three stripes. Instead, there are three rows of punched ventilation holes, which can be found on both sides of the shoe.
Adding an element of charm, sometimes the sneakers include a sketch of Stan Smith, which can be found on the tongue of the shoe. You could say that the branding is minimal but it still has the great Adidas look. Although the design of the shoe has stayed the same ever since it was introduced, there are plenty of colors and new versions available in the current market.
WE ARE BORN IN THE
1963
WE WEAR THEM.
GET IT MODERN: THE CLASSIC Normally Adidas’ Stan Smith sneaker comes in white, but the shoes are also available with a navy or green heel and in some instances, they are all black. If you buy an edition from the 1990s, you will find that the laces have been replaced with Velcro. This is just one of many details that help the vintage style stand out from the other shoes that are on the market. Taking into account the clean, classic style of Stan Smith sneakers, it’s not diffcult to see why the tennis shoes took the world by storm. In fact, the shoes were once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records after selling twenty-two million pairs as of 1988, the eariler times.
the gazelle Adidas had training designs that paved the way for the Gazelle. Rom was a leather shoe with a ripple sole and suede toe overlay that was timed for the Rome Olympics that year. 1964’s Olympiade was a German team favorite, with then cutting-edge performance details like a pull tab on the back of the shoe. In 1966, that design DNA was upgraded to form the first Gazelle shoe. At the time, the use of a suede material was unique, and it was present on two iterations of the Gazelle training shoes.
The color of the shoes actually denoted their performance purpose. For that said, an example would be say the Gazelle Blue was made for training, with a kangaroo upper, padded ankle, arch support, footform tongue, and micro-grip sole as com. The former is the inspiration for an iteration of the Gazelle sold by Adidas Originals as the Gazelle Vintage in 2006. By 1968, the Gazelle had lost that shoehorn heeltab, gained a new lined micro-cell sole, and developed a white heel tab to become the source material for the version of the Gazelle reissued by Adidas Originals as the Gazelle O.G.
TO A
NEW BORN
OF
C REAT I O N .
OUR BRAND STORY Adidas has come a long way with the non-stop creation of creating classic apparels and the heritage of the different classic footwear in the 3 stripes. It became a global brand till then where almost the humans in the world would at least own apparel of Adidas no matter what. Over here, the 3 strip Superstar is one of the classic yet classic in the Adidas Original. Many communities would have the same pair of Superstar. But what’s make them different from one another? Here ‘s the journey that every one individual artist has been through and that makes one superstar significant than ordinary it is. Let’s move on.
nic The Ico
SuperStar Superstar was originally a basketball shoe manufactured by Adidas in 1969. The Superstar shoe was released as a low-top version of the Pro Model basketball shoe but has achieved such popularity, it has been re-imagined time and time again and used on further product types. Nicknamed the “shelltoe”, “shell shoes”, and “shell tops” for their rubber shell toe piece, this iconic silhouette is regarded as one of the major influences in the rise of the modern day “sneaker culture”.
At the time of release the leather upper and shell toe were completely unheard of and it soon caught the attention of professional basketball players, notably Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
By the 1980’s these trainers were highly fashionable and hip-Hop band Run D.M.C. made them their signature fashion choice on stage, wearing them without laces and with the tongues pushed out.
It’s revolutionary technological qualities were soon replicated onto the shoes of the majority of the NBA for their protective qualities and their influence has helped Adidas remain a household name in the States to this day.
It became so noticeable that they even wrote a song about it in response to an anti-sneaker rap song by Jerrald Deas called “Felon Sneakers”, the trio released the song entitled “My Adidas” in 1986 on the back of great publicity.
Even as technology moved on in the footwear industry, the Superstar was held in such high regard that it made the natural transition from court to streets, and it is there that it really left its lasting impression.
Since then, it was the start of one of the most successful yet unexpected collaborations in fashion. This was the first time a sports brand had used music to market their product.
superstar shapes one From then, the Superstar has become part of popular youth fashion and is now worn regularly as casual footwear, rather than for sports. The Superstars, like the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, easily made the transition from the basketball court to street as they caught the attention of retro clothing aficionados. The Superstar is a basic silhouette which people have customised to their own taste down the years. Their ability to appeal to different types of youth cultures and fashion movements has cemented their place as a classic Adidas shoe, it is a style which will be able to fit into a plethora of outfits for years to come.
individual throughout
the journey of who they As till today, many youth would have own at least a superstar and wore them out all around as a iconic fashion piece statement. However, to become an iconic superstar, there’s definitely stages of journey to go through to achieve that status. To the youth now, what superstar has mean to them are rather more than just shoes but is that one that accompany them through their journey in pursing theier dreams and career to who they want to achieve to be.
aspire to be.
WE GET UP AND START OUR DAY AHEAD WITH SUPERSTAR. Every day in a puzzle city, we hustle non stop. We wake up, wash up, and get up to start our day to school, to work and to the process journey of working to our goals that we have been going every day for. Everyone works and wants to be a superstar one day. But to become an iconic star, there’s definitely hard work, success, and failure. When you look back again, you find it all worth it. Is the journey that makes one success remarkable and memorable too.
tO THE
tribe lifestyle
tO THE
tribe we speak
SUPERSTAR ARE NOT JUST A SHOES, BUT OUR COMPANION. Superstar made a group of millennials who are linked share a belief around Adidas. Its members are not simply consumers, they are also believers and promoters. Everyone might own a superstar, but what makes an individual in the tribe different is where the journey they’ve been through. Everyone can be an iconic superstar just by wearing them, but how many can make one superstar significant? Over here, let’s hear what both of our tribe artists got to say about their journey to an iconic superstar.
LIYA,20
MAJOR IN FASHION MARKETING
‘ I aspire to be a iconic fashion designer’ To you, what do you think it takes to be a iconic superstar? I guess everyone’s definition of superstar is different. To become a iconic superstar you wish to be, definitely require hard work and effort throughout the journey to be one. And I, hope to be one of a famous fashion designer, and thats my role of superstar I want to be.
What do you inspire to be in the future? I always have a passion and like to fashion. At a point of time when I saw a few video of a few models walking down a runaway, what caught my attention are not how pretty the models are, but is the clothing that are wore on them that caught me thinking and looking them in details of how such concept is taught of to make that one piece. This is then way i know what i would want to be and do as a career of mine in the future.
Tell us a little bit of your journey to what you want to achieve. As I’m studying fashion as my major now, facing threads and sewing machine has been a much of my daily routine for me. I faced many obstacles at the beginning as I’m still in the peak of learning. There’s definitely hardship in every stage of learning. But i believe, enduring and learning them along the way and never give up allows me to have faith on what I would want to achieve.
What is your most important designer tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio? This question totally depends on the major you are going for. I guess for me as a fashion designer, the most important tool or probably element is the source of material. Without the materials, no matter if it’s fabric or any others, a design piece wouldn’t be able to produce.
Studying the major of fashion, is it neccessary to dress up everyday for class? (laughs) At the beginning of the school period, I tend to dress everyday to school as if I’m going to attend some event. But now, school is getting tiring and what i dress everyday are just jeans, shirt and sneakers.
Do you have any favourite brand? I like the brand of adidas. As I mentioned I wore sneakers now everyday to school and it’s actually adidas superstar. It’s casual that it fit almost to every of my outfit, no matter if it’s formal, sloppy, it’s a total classic piece. It has probably been through in my everyday life of journey in school till i wore them to death.
Superstar has accompanied me through the journey of facing threads and machine almost every day of what I faced as a fashion designer, if I have a chance to customized a superstar that represent me, this will basically be it.
Liya
MANDY,21 MAJOR IN FINE ARTS
‘ I aspire to be an all rounded artist’ To you, what do you think it takes to be a iconic superstar? To me, an iconic superstar is where you are in a high position of which everyone recognizes who you are and your achievement along the way.
What do you inspire to be in the future? I always have the passion for painting. I could say since young I actually like and have a habit of drawing on anywhere and everywhere on the environment. Hence, for now, I am glad to study on what I actually passion and love about. In the future, I would hope to be an all rounded artist that is recognized from all over the world.
Tell us a little bit of your journey to what you want to achieve. As a fine art artist, what we face every day are basically paint, dirt - something that will make us all in a mess and dirty. This is what a fine art artist would have to face. Our major requires us not just to paint and do work on the desk but also require us to build installations of our own everything from scratch. A lot of the rough work in the process of building up, I wasn’t able to manage and complete it on my own which is definitely one of the hardest processes that I push myself to get through. However, I believe all these experiences would allow me to gain more and a step nearer to which I would
What is your most important designer tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio? I guess for me as a fine art artist, there’s actually no tool that is specific for us as a fine art artist exploration or work scope is pretty broad. A fine art artist can actually also depends on the specific depth you are majoring on, for example as a fine art painter then your important tools will obviously be the paint brush. But as for me, with a no specific fine art artist, I don’t regard any specific tool as an important tool for me. We also mostly work in almost everywhere and not just the studio but of course studio has a better lighting to do our work and everything. Just a question, so what is your attire to school every day? (laugh) You know as I said, we often get to dirty ourselves really easily like .. how a construction workers are. Therefore, it’s very rare you would see me all dress up nicely unless it’s a presentation day or esle the rest day are just tshirt, jeans/ shorts and just a sneaker for comfort and easy access around workshops. Any favourite brand? Hm .. just as you mentioned, I realized all my sneakers are actually from adidas. (laugh) Adidas sneakers are pretty much a fashion statement that fits to almost any outfit and are also pretty comfortable. I like their sleek design, the superstar and stan smith! I think I wore my superstar more often like a everyday footwear that it’s going to worn out pretty much sooner or later.
Everyday is a new learning experience.
Mandy
A certain trademark would symbolize the hard work journey as a superstar. For me, my superstar gets various paint and stains which also what I faced every day and accompany me throughout. if I have a chance to customized a superstar that represent me, this will my iconic kind of superstar.
Mandy
RUN DMC AND MY ADIDAS THE 1980’s iCONIC ARTIST HAS MADE THEIR WAY OF THE HIP HOP CULTURE TOGETHER WITH SUPERSTAR.
As revealed by Mr McDaniels in the 2005 documentary Just For Kicks, “My Adidas” originated as a retaliation to an anti-sneaker novelty song called “Felon Shoes”, recorded to discourage kids from aping the stylings of prison inmates. The Run-DMC track and the Raising Hell LP had an accompanying tour that took them and their three-stripe shoe message worldwide in the centuries. In 1988, four special Run-DMC shoes had been released. The high-top Eldorado and Fleetwood, plus the low-top Brougham, were named after the group’s favourite cars, while the Ultrastar was a take on the Superstar with an elasticated tongue for easy laceless wear. Adidas would also put its name to Run-DMC’s underperforming movie, a violent 1988 thriller called Tougher Than Leather, released to coincide with an overlooked album of the same name.
The Run-DMC/adidas hook-up represented an era when both partners shed their stereotypes — Germanic conservatism was discarded when it came to embracing a rebel art form, while the artists themselves, after years of MCs making a pittance with crooked contracts, reiterated how valuable their brand was and rebutted assumptions that they were part of a fly-by-night youth culture.
It was here that sportswear brands realised that the world beyond sport was there for the taking, and that collaborations from designers, artists, actors and smaller, nimbler brands - could take them to places that they couldn’t go alone. In turn, hip-hop culture learnt that there were infinite possibilities, and profits, in corporations keen for credibility in a new world. Not bad for something instigated by a dusted street corner epiphany.
HOW WE ARE. Us? Just a pool of millennials who have a goal to be an iconic star one day as a hip-hop artist, designer and various other. I guess it all involves a bit of art? We work for it and give our blood and sweat. Along the journey will slowly define us and shape us into who we want to be. In a good side, we mean. There’s definitely many of different generation talent out there which we might call them creators. They non-stop work and do what they are passionate about just like all of us here. We are all living in a non-stop evolving world nowadays and no doubt this also evolve onto how we speak.
tO THE
tribe DNA LINGO
get inspired SUPERSTAR PARTY GATHERS ALL ‘FUTURE ARTIST’ IN ONE AND GET INSPIRED WITH ONE ANOTHER JOURNEY IN THE MAKING. #ONESTARONEJOURNEY
#ONESTARONEJOURNEY In order to gather all individual millennials that could be the generation ‘future artist’, Adidas Original created a campaign party of which to enter, no purchasing of ticket is needed. But whereas, as long as one wore their superstar and flash it at the entry point they are allow to be in the campaign party. This party is to allow every individual to share about their journey of work and process to becoming who they want to be in their goals. With that, every individual are then able to share their experience and get inspired from one another.
Every superstar underneath is a different journey. It meant significantly different as an individual from one another.
ONE STAR ONE JOURNEY.