Streetball

Fall/Winter 2019

summer hoops, past x future.

STREETBALL

One of the closest meeting points between culture and sport is undeniably found at the park. Streetball is not only a huge part of basketball culture, but also played a big part of adidas’ 90’s basketball DNA. So, we looked to the archive for a way to bring back this attitude for the summer of 2019.

ATTITUDE & EXPRESSION

tribal guy.jpg — EXPRESSION OF POWER

We wanted to reflect the inward and outward confidence that is needed to survive and win in the park.

hoop balloons.jpg — EXPRESSION OF PLAY

At the same time, there is a joyful and free feeling of being at the park and forgetting about the world outside those white lines.

The Streetball 2 was a shoe we focused on, which had the iconic forefoot support element as well as the heavy outdoor lugs.

We also looked at the heavy outdoor lugs that were made to grip on cement and uneven surfaces.

PAST EMPOWERS FUTURE

The adidas outdoor basketball archive is rich with iconic elements and heavily built sneakers. We poured through vintage silhouettes and started to pull cues that brought back memories of the streetball era of the 90’s.

INSPIRATION

There was a really interesting aspect of protection and utility that I recognized in the outdoor basketball archive. So, I wanted to bring in modern day utility references for inspiration, construction, and design language.

PLAYFUL AND FUNCTIONAL

Below are some reference materials from the local hardware shop which I purchased.

TACTILE COMFORT

EXPLORE

This is a small selection of this exploration which includes photo mashups, sketching, and prototyping.

REFINED DIRECTION

Focusing on a few iconic elements of the Streetball 2, using negative space to lessen the visual (and some physical) weight.

United Nude 2014 inspiration

STREETBALL x ADIDAS’ LIGHTEST TECHNOLOGY

In order to make some of the heaviest shoes in our archive wearable and modern, we wanted to pair the collective memory of the past with adidas’ lightest weight midsole tech, LIGHTSTRIKE.

Inspired by United Nude’s 3D study, collaborated with Digital Design team to create generative grid studies.