The Evolution of Adidas Football boots by Katrine Sæter

ADOLF DASSLER AND THE HISTORY OF ADIDAS

You are now looking in a unique book. There is only one of this book in the whole world, and this is the result of my Final Major Project. As you may already have guessed, this book is about football boots. Not just any football boots, but Adidas football boots. I will take you through some of the history behind these fantastic boots, which is one of the oldest in todayÂ´s market. Through pictures, illustrations, interviews, infographics and text, I will show you the evolution of Adidas football boots. How they have gone from being just a black and white boot to kick a ball with, to become a piece of fashion. - I hope you will enjoy it!

CONTENT

1 THE HISTORY OF ADI DASSLER AND ADIDAS COMPANY

2 THE EVOLUTION OF ADIDAS FOOTBALL BOOTS

3 INFOGRAPHICS ABOUT PLAYERS BOOTS

4 INTERVIEW WITH ADIDAS EMPLOYER IN SINGAPORE

5 HOW TO KICK A FOOTBALL?

6 FASHION DESIGNER YOHJI YAMAMOTO & DESIGNED BOOTS

The history of Adidas started in Bavaria, Germany, where Adolf Dassler registered the “Gebrüder Dassler Schufabrik” in 1924. He wanted to provide athletes the best equipment as possible. He started up in his mothers wash room, and ended up conquering the world. Since then, a lot of great things have happened. The company has reached big goals, but also failed at some points. But they have most of all improved and grown to be one of the biggest producers of sports equipment today; a lot of the greatest athletes are using Adidas when performing sports.

1900 - 1978 GERMANY FOUNDER OF A D I D A S

18th of August in 1949, Adi Dassler started over again and registered the company we know today. He first called it “Adi Dassler Adidas Sportschufabrik”, and set to work 47 employees in the small town Herzogenaurach, where they still are located today. On the same day he registered a shoe with three stripes printed on the side, which later became their trademark. In 1954 Adidas big breakthrough came with the invention of light weight shoes with screw-in-studs. The German national team won the world cup same year, which was an unbelivable victory, and since the germans played with the new Adidas boots, this made Adidas and its founder a household name on football pitches everywhere. The company continued to produce boots for athletes, and in 1967 they also expanded their business with Franz Beckenbauers tracksuit model, which was the first piece of apparel for Adidas, and from now on the business was not just about shoes anymore. Adi Dasslers secret to success, was not only that he kept on producing innovative products and always made them better, he also put a big effort in talking to the athletes, and listened carefully to what they said and he constantly observed what could be improved or invented to support their needs. This made the best athletes trust in Adidas, and it kept on doing so for decades.

In 1970 Adidas produced the first football “Telstar” for the 1970 FIFA world cup. Ever since, Adidas has provided the official matchball to every tournament. They keep finding new techniques and materials to always produce the best ball on the market. Throughout the 70´s, Adidas kept expanding to more and more sports, it was not only the big football stars that represented Adidas anymore. Adi Dassler died on September 6th 1978, right before his 78th birthday. The man had redefined the sporting goods industry almost all by himself. The end of one Dassler era became the start of another. His son Horst Dassler took over and continued to master his invention, the modern sports marketing. Adidas is still one of the biggest producers on the market, and they keep on inventing great boots in different materials. The boots have changed a lot during the decades, and today its all about the weight, material and design on the boots. It has become so much more than just a black and white boot as it was from the beginning.

It really wasn't a job to me. It was more of a need, desire and shear love of helping athletes. - Adi Dassler

THE EVOLUTION OF ADIDAS FOOTBALL BOOTS

1954 - 2015

After the first Dassler boot was successfully released, Adi Dassler kept on making great boots for football players all over the world. Through the decades there has been some revolutionary inventions. First you had the Adidas Copa Mundial, made of real leather and designed to fit the foot perfectly. That has been the most successfull boot Adidas ever produced, and is still one of the most popular boots on the market. Most important for the evolution when it comes to football technology the later years, is the predator boot. Invented in 1994 by former football player for Liverpool, Craig Johnston. He designed a boot with rubber on the side, to get a better grip on the ball. This boot has later been worn by famous players such as Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard. In addition to these two bestsellers, today the AdiZero is also a very popular boot, with its extremely low weight and perfect fit. These days Adidas is launching a limited edition of the lightest football boot ever made, with the magic weight of 99 grams. Of course there has been many boots throughout the decades, and here you can see a timeline with the ones that has been most important for the evolution of Adidas football boots.

1954

1965

ADIDAS ARGENTINIA Worn at the 1954 FIFA world cup in Switzerland. 436 g

ADIDAS ACHILLES Special designed for Uwe Seeler, who tore his achilles. 342 g

1970 ADIDAS COSMOS Worn until they fell apart, by Franz Beckenbauer. 277 g

1982 ADIDAS COPA MUNDIAL Most successfull boot ever produced. 306 g

1994 ADIDAS PREDATOR The revolutionary boot made by Craig Johnston. 300 g

2006 ADIDAS +F50 TUNIT This one enabled players to customise their boot. You could change the studs, upper and chassis, to control comfort and weight after your own preferences. ? g

2015 ADIDAS F50 ADIZERO One of the most popular boots on the market today. 195 g

If there was a new design that came to the market that Adidas did not make, I would break it down and make it better. - Adi Dassler

PLAYERS

I asked 50 football players about what they think is important when they buy their boots.

WHO ANSWERED

MALES

THE SURVEY? FEMALES

WHAT BRAND DO THEY PREFER?

OTHER BRANDS

WHAT KIND OF MATERIAL

DO PLAYERS WANT?

MALES

FEMALES

LEATHER

MALES

FEMALES

SYNTETHIC

DO PLAYERS PREFER

HIGH OR LOW

STUDS?

LOW STUDS

HIGH STUDS

WHAT PRICE ARE

PLAYERS WILLING TO PAY?

MALES

NOK 2000 ,NOK 1500 ,NOK 1000 ,-

TOTAL 17

FEMALES

ADIDAS EMPLOYER

#1 HOW HAS ADIDAS FOOTBALL BOOTS DEVELOPED? - I think the most important thing may be how the material in the boots have changed. For 50 years ago the boots were so heavy, but on some of todays models you literally donÂ´t feel that you wear it at all. I think the biggest and most important happening for the development, was when Craig Johnston came up with the predator boot. That was revolutionary. They are also working on a new material to make shoes with these days, called adidas boost. They have already launched the jogging shoe, and it is made with a whole new technique and really light weight material. I think they are working on a football boot based on the same technique right now. That is also whats so special about Adidas, they have always found these new ways and techniques when making shoes, and they seem to come up with some new invention every time, and that may be the main reason why they manage to keep up with all their competitors.

I went to Singapore for my holiday and visitted an Adidas store to talk with an employer about the boots they produce. I thought it could be interesting to hear what thoughts someone who works with Adidas every day has. I talked with a man named Lim Hong Wen. We talked for a couple minutes, and I found out he was actually interested in the history of Adidas football boots himself. I asked him some questions about them, and here is what he had to say.

INTERVIEW WITH

#2 WHICH IS THE MOST SOLD AND POPULAR BOOT TODAY? - It is definitely Copa, Predator and Adizero. Actually no one can compete with adidas on the material in the Adizero boot. It is the boot with lowest weight on the market. You always have those who never buy anything else than the old copa mundial boot. With the black leather and white laces, just like the boots originally looked like. Then you have Predator, which gives you a really good grip on the ball and is also very comfortable to wear. The light weight adizero boot comes in both leather and syntethic leather, and it is mostly young players who buy those.

WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT TODAYS DESIGN? - Bright colours and patterns dominate the shoes, they are not just simple black shoes with the white stripes anymore. But you alo have the old classic boot design of course. It is the youngest generation that mostly buys shoes with colour, I think its because they buy the shoes their favourite players use, such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and other players sponsored by Adidas. Older generation still prefer simple design like black & white, because that is what they grew up with.

DO YOU KNOW WHO DESIGNS THE BOOTS? - Adidas main office in Germany has designers working there, and I think they design most of the boots. But sometimes they also have special editions and collections. For example Lionel Messi has his own collection, which comes with a new design every year. Sometimes they have also hired in designers, for example the famous japanese clothing designer Yohji Yamamoto. He has designed two collections so far, inspired by Japanese culture with Japanese dragon illustrations dominating the boots.

HOW TO KICK A FOOTBALL?

PARTS OF THE FOOT TO KICK A BALL WITH

WHERE TO HIT THE BALL

FASHION

MEETS

FOOTBALL

3/10 - 1943 J A PA N E S E FAS H IO N DESIGNER

The Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, has won several awards for his design, and is concidered to be a master tailor. In 2003 he started his partnership with Adidas, publishing the Y3-collection, a clothing line with fashionable sport clothes. In 2013 he designed a new collection of football boots, and you can say that this was when fashion met football for the first time.

Bridging the gap between fashion and sports, adidas teamed up with awardwinning Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto to launch a new third kit and adizero F50 cleat for the defending UEFA Champions League winners, Real Madrid. Star players like James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Marcelo and Karim Benzema will debut the new looks in this season’s Champions League. The new all-black kit aims to unify the values of Madridismo focused on its two main elements — greatness and determination. Both elements are represented by mythical beasts which originate from Eastern culture and are interlaced on the front of the shirt.Dragon king symbolizes the greatness, glory and power of the club, and dragon bird, an animal that is able to relive in the most hostile situations, represents the clubs resistance, determination and agility on its way to the victory. The kit was produced in black, which happens to be Yamamoto’s favorite colorways. Details include contrasting white accents, a mao type collar, two-color crest and designer signature. Adizero technology ensures unparalleled range of motion, comfort and breathability to maximize performance.

Additionally, adidas released another limited edition Yamamoto version of the adizero F50 cleat. The new cleat dons a blue and green colorway, with the traditional design placed in the context of Japan’s modern sci-fi culture, creating a spiritual connection between past and future. The front of the boot displays a pair of imperial lion-dogs who, in ancient times, guarded the emperors of Japan who used to live on sacred ground. This traditional design has been placed in the context of Japan’s modern sci-fi culture creating a spiritual connection between the past and the future. The result is an unexpected design that draws inspiration from the fashion world in order to make a bold statement on the football field. Yohji Yamamoto explained: “My inspiration is a mixture of ancient traditions and modern sci-fi from Japanese culture… I hope the inspiration of the boot harmonises the players and gives them extra confidence to express themselves without any fear. People should feel free to express themselves. Just follow your own instinct.” The Yamamoto f50 uses the same technology as the current adizero f50 range and enables players to be faster than ever before. Precision engineering has played an integral role in every aspect of the boot design and at only 165g is one of the lightest shoes on the market.

Yohji Yamamoto

I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion. - Yohji Yamamoto

TH E LEFT AN D RIGHT BOOTS FEATU RE SEPARATE MOTIFS THAT BRING TO LIFE TH E TH EM ES OF “LOVE” AN D “HATE”. THE RIGHT BOOT FEATURES A MENACING BLACKSKULL MOTIF EMPHASISING POWER, STRENGTH AND HATRED. THE LEFT BOOT IS DESIGNED WITH BRIGHT COLOURS AN D DIVE RS E D ESIG N S I N C LU DI N G A ROSE DESIGN THAT SYMBOLISE THE PLAYER’S LOVE OF THE GAME.

IN THE DESIGN PROCESS 28

Today, the boots are not made to be best possible just for the practical reasons. It has become a piece of fashion, and it is more important for the players how the boot look like. Of course, the comfort, weight and how it fits the foot is also important, but today, you will find that in every boot. Colours, patterns and illustrations is more common on the boots you find at the market today. Limited editions is also very popular, such as tattoo pack, Y-3, black pack and battle pack. They also produce special editions for big occasions such as world cups, champions league and anniversaries. For example for Lionel Messi's birthday, they made a colourful boot with leopard pattern. Today the boots can actually be custom made just the way you want them, and in that way you can have your own uniqe boot, that no one else got. If you look at the pictures, you get to see how the designers work in the process of designing a new special boot. They start with black and white sketches, before they add colours and addapts the design over to the boot. You can see that the different designs is often inspired by animals, that can be connected to be tough and angry. Adidas has recently launched collections with the slogan â&#x20AC;&#x153;there will be hatersâ&#x20AC;?, where the point is to get other players jealous on the boots you are wearing, because they are so special and well designed. The big players have also had their doubters and haters along the way to get where they are today, but they never would have made it if they had not stayed strong and never listened to the doubters!

REFERENCES

Picture: http://pixshark.com/adolf-dassler-first-shoe.htm Pattern: Katrine Sæter Text source: http://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/ Written by: Katrine Sæter

Pictures: Katrine Sæter Text: Based on survey by Katrine Sæter

Text and illustrations: Katrine Sæter

Pictures: http://www.designboom.com/design/a-history-of-adidas-classic-football-boot/ http://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/ Facts: http://www.designboom.com/design/a-history-of-adidas-classic-football-boot/ Text: Katrine Sæter

Pictures: Katrine Sæter Text: Based on survey by Katrine Sæter

Pictures: www.elisetoide.com http://solecollector.com/news/adidas-launches-yamamoto-designed-real-madrid-kit-adizero-f50-cleat/ Pattern: Katrine Sæter Text: http://solecollector.com/news/adidas-launches-yamamoto-designed-real-madrid-kit-adizero-f50-cleat/

Pictures: http://pixshark.com/adolf-dassler-first-shoe.htm http://www.designboom.com/design/a-history-of-adidas-classic-football-boot/ www.soccerbible.com Facts: http://www.designboom.com/design/a-history-of-adidas-classic-football-boot/

Pictures: Katrine Sæter Pattern: Katrine Sæter Text: Katrine Sæter

Text and Picture: http://www.footyheadlines.com/2015/03/ adidas-f50-adizero-tattoo-boots.html

Pictures: Katrine Sæter Pattern: Katrine Sæter Text: Based on survey by Katrine Sæter

Text and illustrations: Katrine Sæter

Text: Katrine Sæter Pattern: Katrine Sæter Pictures: http://www.soccerbible.com/design/productdesign/2014/05/developer-sketches-adidas-nitrocharge-battle-pack/