Alexander Wang is, by his own description, a total sneakerhead. He once even designed a whole clothing collection around them, with dresses, tops and handbags emulating his favourite sneaks, like the classic white-and-green adidas Stan Smith.
Now, Wang has taken his sneaker love to a new level, partnering with adidas for a line of apparel and footwear that seeks, in his words, to “disrupt” the famous adidas look while still preserving its familiarity. One example: rotating the well-known trefoil logo upside down. Another: “deconstructing” the adidas sneaker. Also, the entire collection is unisex: Tops, bottoms, shoes.
Wang introduced the new line as a surprise finale to his Fashion Week runway show on Saturday night, in a huge space on a Hudson River pier. After modelling creations from Wang’s own label, models rushed backstage to change into new adidas garb, while a one-and-a-half minute film teased the new collection.
Then they marched onto the runway, more than 70 of them, all clad in black, as the crowd — which included Madonna and Nicki Minaj — craned their necks and snapped endless photos. It was, Wang said, “the biggest show we’ve ever done.”
In designing the new line, the key challenge was to change up the adidas look so it feels fresh — but not to the point that it’s unrecognisable, Wang said in an interview.
“It was really about saying, how do we take something and shake it up a little, disrupt it, but at the same time not change it so much where it doesn’t feel right.”
The 32-year-old designer is recognised as one of the most talented and busiest of his generation. He launched his own eponymous label 11 years ago, at age 21. Last year, he ended a prestigious three-year stint as creative director at Balenciaga, a job that had him splitting his time between Paris and New York. Since then, he’s been back fulltime at his own label, where he focuses heavily on streetwear — and is a favourite of the celebrity set.
As for adidas, it clearly wanted to capitalise on Wang’s edgy and youthful vibe.
“I’ve been a fan for a long time, this connection he has with culture and New York and breaking down boundaries,” said Nic Galway, vice-president of design for adidas Originals.
For Wang, it was a chance to work with a brand he often wore as a child, and especially to work with sneakers.
“I grew up on sneakers,” he said. “It’s a very interesting time obviously for [all] sportswear, the whole market and how people utilise fitness, incorporate it into their daily uniform. So the sneaker is something that I’ve always been very close to. And it’s always been something that’s very hard for us to do in house, to be honest — obviously adidas has the most innovative resources.”
Wang also showed his own label’s spring collection on Saturday night, and it was a marked contrast to the all-black adidas garb: Colourful, whimsical warm-weather clothes that would have been just right for the beach.
The designer said backstage that he was going for a “liberating, free, surfer attitude and sensibility. Everything was put through the lens of water sports.”
“I’m from California,” he added. “I love the beach” there’s such a kind of laid-back attitude and sensibility that I really wanted to bring into this collection.”
Wang’s after-parties are as famous as his shows. As guests left the runway, they walked into a cavernous space filled with colourful trucks, some dispensing snacks, slurpees, or stronger beverages. Partiers could even take a can of spray paint and decorate a van, if they chose.
