Best of adidas Football Collaborations

adidas have a long history of successful collaborations in art, sport and fashion and we've picked out our favourite football collabs from the three stripes. 

adidas x Marvel

Ever wondered which pair of boots Wolverine and Cyclops would rock? Thanks to adidas we now know with the adidas x Marvel collection. The Predator Freak+ received a Wolverine takeover while the X Ghosted+ was Cyclop’s boot of choice.

The Wolverine Predators were a black & yellow colourway with ‘Wolverine’ replacing the usual ‘Predator’ text on the upper. The X-Men could be found on the outstep of the boot while two Wolverine icons are placed on the heels of the boots along with some of Wolverine's trademark prints across the upper and stripes.

The Cyclops X Ghosted+ combines blue, yellow and red palettes to play host to Cyclops. A shimmering soleplate provides the aesthetics under the hoop but up top the Cyclops logo sits on the outstep of the boots and on the heels, with Marvel X-Men branding on the instep.

 

adidas x Yamamoto Y3 Football Trainer

Y-3 is a collaborative label that sees adidas and Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto reinterpreting each other’s classic designs. The ‘Y’ stands for Yohji Yamamoto, while the ‘3’ represents adidas' Three Stripes, with the dash signifying the bond between the two. 

Yamamoto and adidas used the iconic Samba indoor football shoe, to create a stylish reinterpretation of the famous sneaker, the Y3 Tangutsu Football trainer. Y-3 logos and details appear on the tongue, heel and outsole, while Yamamoto’s signature can be found on the midsole.

adidas x Human Race

One of the biggest adidas football collaborations to date was with Pharrell Williams for the Human Race collection with Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Bayern. Each jersey used a hand painted aesthetic to reimagine some of the club’s most historic and iconic jerseys. The jerseys were inspired by the past, with the history of the clubs forming the foundations of the design process combined with a celebration of the imperfect beauty of the human spirit.

The Arsenal Jersey was inspired by the bruised banana shirt of 1991-3 when the club won a domestic double. Manchester United's jersey was based on the famous snowflake away shirt from 1990-92 which was inspired by the house music scene in Manchester in the late 80s. Bayern Munich’s Jersey also went back to the early 90s with a reimagining of the 1991-93 jersey with hand painted adidas stripes on the right shoulder. The Real Madrid shirt was based on the 2014/15 dragon design from Yohji Yamamoto, a good friend of Pharrell. Finally, the Juventus jersey went back to the pink shirt from the 15/16 season which was the first season of the adidas and Juventus partnership.

 

adidas Football x Parley 

In 2015 adidas announced their partnership with ocean conservation organization; Parley, to develop shoes and clothes made with recycled ocean plastic. This began a movement to end the wasteful fashion loop by reusing plastic and debris that is already polluting the planet. 

The Parley collaboration soon found its way over to the football department, with Real Madrid & Bayern Munich both receiving adidas Parley jerseys. Both Jerseys were made from recycled ocean plastic and were worn on pitch in November 2016. 

The Jerseys were released alongside the UltraBOOST Uncaged Parley as the first mass production footwear to be created using Parley Ocean Plastic.

adidas x Arsenal x 424

Earlier this year adidas and Arsenal teamed up with US streetwear brand 424 to continue football's long relationship with fashion. The brands started working together in 2019 when 424 became Arsenal’s official formalwear partner but the latest collaboration took the relationship to new heights.

The collection includes bold red AFC, 424 and adidas brandings with a red keyline which highlight the architecture of the Emirates Stadium. The range included a training jersey, poncho, Ultra boosts, slides and much more.

 

adidas x Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto and adidas have collaborated on various other projects together separate from the Y3 branding. The pair first teamed up in 2006 for the adidas Y-3 Yamamoto +F50 Tunit YY with a Dragon, Eagle, Tiger and Wolf version of the boot.

The pair teamed up again in 2013 for the the launch of the adidas Yamamoto F50 adizero. Yamamoto designed the boots inspired by the pair of imperial lion-dogs that stood guard over the gods and emperors of Japan from ancient times.

In 2014 the three stripes and Yamamoto released another limited edition adizero f50, this time getting a dragon makeover with one green boot and one blue boot inspired by Japan’s modern sci-fi culture, creating “a spiritual connection between the past and the future’. These boots were released in line with the Real Madrid Champions League jersey which was also designed by Yamamoto. The Real Madrid jersey was based on greatness and determination, represented by the ‘dragon bird’ and ‘dragon king’ creatures printed on the jersey.

adidas x Reuben Dangoor

In 2020 adidas teamed up with British artist Reuben Dangoor for a limited edition Predator release. The boot was created to spread a message of unity & positivity, orange, purple, yellow, and blue stripes cover the boot, with handshakes, heart signs, and fist bumps, all hand-drawn by Dangoor covering the black base as part of the design.

The limited edition release was the first time an artist had collaborated on the Predator silhouette, and was joined by a wider pack with two trainer editions, to complement the boot beyond just the pitch.

 

adidas Porsche Design Sport X Football

One of the more interesting adidas football collaborations was the sports brand teaming up with another iconic German brand; Porsche, for a limited edition boot in 2016. The boot was inspired by the adidas Copa Mundial and the Porsche 911.

Wrapped in a full black K-leather suit, with a unique surface treatment to replicate the satin-metal body work of a Porsche supercar. More Porsche influences can be seen on the side of the boot which provides a Carbon Fibre speed effect, drowning the boot in luxury.

 

adidas x Palace x Juventus

One of the most hyped collaborations in football was the adidas x Palace skateboards collaboration with Juventus in 2019. The three stripes teamed up with the London based skate brand to design a training wear range along with their take on the Italian giants Home Jersey. 

The home kit was modified with neon green accents on the Juventus crests, sleeves, names & numbers and adidas x Palace logo, while a distorted graphic interrupts the stripes on the jersey and socks. Palace and adidas have developed a relationship now having teamed up on the Wimbledon tennis collection in the past. Palace were the first skate brand to enter the world of football, paving the way for many collaborations between football and fashion.

If you missed out on any of the releases there's still limited availability of some of these collaborations at ultrafootball.com or in store at Ultra HQ in Sydney.  

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