THE JOURNAL
Get In The Mood For Summer With The New Adidas Originals By Wales Bonner Collection
Fashion churns out more collaborations than we can keep count of these days. Few, however, can be considered as resounding a success as that between adidas Originals and Wales Bonner. It was back in 2020 that sportswear giant first tapped one of the buzziest young designers in menswear and invited her to join her award-winning talents to its own. What emerged was a longstanding and fruitful partnership that not only reaffirmed adidas Originals as a high-fashion player, but singlehandedly reshaped our taste in sneakers.
Since the very first collection, Wales Bonner has effortlessly infused those classic adidas Originals blueprints with its singular taste and point of view. At the core of the designer’s creative ethos is what Ms Grace Wales Bonner describes as an “Afro Atlantic spirit”, with designs that reference Black history and culture and speak to the African diaspora.
Each Wales Bonner project begins with rigorous research and an exploration of archival references, and the adidas Originals partnership is no different. For the SS24 collection, there’s a clear through-line between Wales Bonner’s own label and her creations for adidas. Both are rooted in the long-distance running traditions of East Africa – her own mainline collection, named Marathon, offered “an ode to long journeys and life missions”, with details by artisans from Addis Ababa and modelled by Ethiopian athletes such as Messrs Tamirat Tola and Yomif Kejelcha.
For this latest collaboration, adidas Originals and Wales Bonner continue that exploration, turning that lens on Iten, Kenya. Christened the Rift Valley Runners, the adidas collection pays homage to the small town that’s home to long-distance training camps and produces some of the brightest track stars in the world.
Sportswear silhouettes have been central to the collaboration’s aesthetic since its inception, albeit in the most elevated manner imaginable. That spirit is best reflected in the tracksuit, a signature style. Similar to previous seasons, the two-piece takes the fore once more, with designs that speak to Wales Bonner’s confident embrace of colour-blocking – from a vibrant yellow and green set to an electric blue with contrasting red stripes.
In the spirit of summer, those athletics shapes also come equipped for the warmer weather. That translates to a lightweight large-check tracksuit set in nylon that trades trousers for sports shorts. Wales Bonner’s spin on adidas’ signature three-stripe T-shirts also makes its return, emblazoned with the stamps of both brands. And in keeping with Wales Bonner’s penchant for craftmanship, the collection includes a matching tank top and sweat shorts set featuring a crochet houndstooth knit, complete with a coordinating drawstring bag.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an adidas Originals by Wales Bonner collection without a Samba. The partnership has been credited with sparking the revival of this now-ubiquitous sports shoe, which was first introduced in 1949, with Wales Bonner crafting instantly collectable styles in high-shine silver and textured pony-skin leather. For those fiending for the latest style to add to their line-up, the partnership continues to keep things fresh, introducing new iterations in shades of beige and blue, finished with multicoloured laces.
But perhaps most thrillingly this season, Wales Bonner has dipped her toe further into the adidas sneaker library and worked her magic on another rare sports-shoe gem. This time, it’s all about the SL76, a streamlined running style with a “Super-Light” construction that’s spun from mesh and suede, which first made its appearance in the summer of 1976. For SS24, it’s revived in two eye-catchingly modern colourways: yellow and light-blue, both trimmed with black tri-stripes. And if the Wales Bonner effect strikes once again, it’s a style we’ll certainly be seeing plenty more of.