Born from the courage to disrupt the design DNA of adidas, the Deerupt leads the way as a new silhouette injected with bold colour. Reinventing the structural mesh from the soles of 80s running styles, the design process for the Deerupt pushed the philosophy of archival referencing to new heights. Taking a single idea from their heritage sneakers, Deerupt stretches the grid concept to cover the entire shoe. The result is a collapsible runner that conforms to the wearer with a fit and comfort like never before. The Deerupt is a way to think about what it means to extend the imaginary of possibility. Pushing the boundaries of design and bending the adidas signature, the Three Stripes.
Buildings, patterns, honeycombs, farmlands. Taking inspiration from urban planning, architecture and natural phenomena, the Deerupt reminds us that before any of these existed there was a system, equal parts natural and man-made. The grid. This is what gives the abstract something recognizable with its ability to make the familiar radically different. Understanding that everything is built on a grid makes one aware that anything is possible.
The editorial for the Deerupt embraces this fully with its intention to translate the infinite possibility within the grid.
Formless white backgrounds. Pink, purple and green light combined with smoke and bubbles. Models display strong contact with the viewer, taking on mechanical poses with limbs hanging, outstretched or twisted out of familiar placement. The intermittent presence of fishnet socks mimics the grid as they cling to ankles and shins.
Taking on the grid as a foundation, the images point to the distortions in the everyday and make the familiar radically different. The use of pockets of soft light with stronger hue spots create a mysterious, dreamy moment of déjà vu, again making the past filter through to the present and the new. A glimpse of a minimalist, goth-tinged future. A visual demonstration of disruptiveness through the simplicity of the grid, and undeniably adidas.
Credits:
Photography, Casting & Styling – Jamal Nxedlana
Models: Kayla Armstrong
Producer: Marcia Elizabeth
Photographic & Fashion Assistant: Lebogang Ramfate
Hair & Make-Up Artist: Katelyn Gerke
