#adidasconsortium

THE ZX TENTHOUSAND WAS BORN

_en(only) The ZX story is one of the most iconic movements that were ever created by adidas. It was the professional running range from the brand back in the 90s. There were three types of support in the sneakers for different kinds of runners which was the real innovation. It started with the three digits range (i.e. adidas ZX 500) without any kind of support for stability and flexibility for runners with "normal" feet that didn't have any flaws in their technique. After that came the four-digit series where one of the most iconic models was the ZX8000 in the OG Aqua colourway. With this range, the technology called Torsion was introduced. It supported flexibility and stability of the front and rear parts of the feet and it's still used today. And at that point, we are getting closer to the latest addition to the range called the ZX 10.000 C (short for Cushion).

The whole ZX range was created in the 90s as I already mentioned and the latest addition to the range is actually a 30th-anniversary addition into the series created 30 years later like it was created back in the time. For the project of this reborn legend, the most relevant people from the adidas Statement team were invited including the young blood like Aurelien, George, Charles and more as well as the person who is considered the father of ZX and created a lot of the original designs back in the day - Mr. Jacques Chassaing.

In the end, I'll just say a few words about the colourful beauty that you can see in the pictures right here. On display, there are the first two released CWs of the ZX 10.000 C. The first to release was the collaboration with Overkill, probably the most relevant store to do this shoe with. It was co-designed by Mr EQT himself and probably the biggest Torsion kicks collector on earth also known as Marc Leuschner. Together with his team, they originally planned this release to be for Friends and Family only but after great feedback, it was an Overkill only release in Berlin (which we thankfully attended and I got my pair signed by Marc himself - thanks a million again my friend!). Although the shoe is sold out, it has a great collectors’ element to it. The colourway was inspired by combining the original CWs of the ZX four-digit range into one pair and it is stunning. The surprise moment comes when you open the box and find three sneakers inside. The full pair of the "green" kicks and one shoe of the "blue" colour. When buying the box, you always got a random blue assigned and if you want to complete the pair you need to trade or buy the second half of the blue pair from somebody in the same size and the opposite side. In one word, a very cool and original approach to a collaboration nowadays.

The second pictured pair came out as the second but it is considered the OG colourway of the ZX 10.000 C and is named "Supercolor." It is an adidas in-house project and on feet, it really shines. The original ZX colours like the light blue and material mix are both classical and modern at the same time. Anyway, if you like them, it's probably too late, but you can catch a few remaining sizes in Footshop and stay tuned for what the future will bring very soon :)

Welcome to the Neighborhood.

VISIT FROM CANADA

_en Lately, there has been no shortage of adidas Consortium releases, but that was not always the case. In the beginning, only very few retailers were included in this project and that reflected in the frequency of produced collabs. The Canadian retailer Livestock was one of them and now, ten years after their first collab, they’re linking up again for an unusual capsule collection that perfectly reflects their roots and where they come from.

In September 2008, Livestock created the adidas Consortium Toronto silhouette as a part of their City Series. A closer look reveals some similarities between the understated model with retro outdoor details and this year’s Ultra Tech GTX. The all-condition theme was replaced in 2016 with a more performance oriented capsule collection named Rhythm. Livestock extensively reworked the Pure Boost silhouette and paired it with the decent yet premium-looking adidas Samba model. This year’s release represents their return to the outdoor theme in an even more extreme way.

Vancouver, where Livestock was founded, is considered to be one of the world’s rainiest cities, so it makes perfect sense that this collection is launching at the beginning of fall when the actual rain season starts. Because of that, Livestock decided to also join forces with the premium Canadian outdoor brand Arc’ Teryx which supplied a matching pullover jacket and shoulder bag. The last addition to this capsule is adidas Consortium Artic Pant to keep you dry from head to toes.

The first model (with, in my opinion, better commercial potential) is called Ultra Tech GTX. After a quick look at the midsole, Three Stripe’s aficionados will notice elements from the retro model Oregon runner (this “net” texture was also the inspiration behind this year’s Deerupt). The bright yellow rip-stop and Gore-Tex upper provides maximum breathability and dry feet at the same time. The utilitarian appearance is highlighted by a speed lace system that was taken over from the second model: Terrex Skychaser. Even though this model received the “traditional” lacing and some small changes, the overall rugged off-road presence of this model hints towards more extreme outdoor use than everyday casual wear.

The adidas Consortium x Livestock collection presents an alternative for those sneakerheads that spend their weekends in the countryside but don’t want to compromise between functional footwear and sneakers with an interesting story. If you are one of them, both the models were released on September 28th and you can find them now at Footshop.

// text Viktor // pics Martin & Viktor

_cz Přesto, že o adidas Consortium releases není v poslední době nouze, nebylo tomu tak vždycky. Program který tři pruhy spustili v roce 2005 v prvních letech zastřešoval pouze hrstku retailers, a tomu odpovídala i frekvence realizovaných kolaborací. Právě Kanadští Livestock patřili mezi jedny z prvních a po 10 ti letech od své první kolaborace přichází s dvojící neobvyklých modelů perfektně reflektující odkud pochází. 

Nejdřív ale rychlý pohled zpátky. V roce 2008 vznikl v rámci adidas Consortium City Series model adidas Toronto Livestock a při pohledu na siluetu přepracovanou s outdoor prvky nejde nevidět podobnost s letošním výraznějším modelem Ultra Tech GTX . All-condtiton tématiku nahradila v roce 2016 performance ražená kolekce nazvaná Rhythm v které Livestock přetvořil model Pure Boost a doplnil ho o decentní ale prémiové adidas Samba. Letošní release pak představuje návrat k outdooru a to v ještě extrémnější podobě.

Vancouver, odkud Livestock pochází, je celosvětově považován za jedno z měst s největším počtem srážek a letošní kolekce přichází právě se začátkem dešťové sezóny. Pravě proto nenechal Livestock nic náhodě a dvojici siluet doplnil o ladící pull-over bundu a shoulder bag. Apparel - který byl k dostání pouze v den releasu na pobočkách Livestocku - vznikl ve spolupráci s kanadským premium outdoor brandem Arc'Teryx. Posledním kusem jsou pak ladící kalhoty z kolekce adidas Atric .

První z dvojice modelů, s větším komerčním potenciálem, nese název Ultra Tech GTX. Znalci tří pruhů při pohledu na midsole poznají že si model vypůjčil prvky z běžecké retro siuluety Oregon Runner (síťový motiv stál i za zrodem modelu Deerupt). Svršek tvoří křiklavě žlutý Gore-Tex zaručující suchou nohu ale prodyšnost zároveň. Celkově utilitární vzhled pak upevňuje vyměnitelný speed lace systém - ten byl převzat z druhého modelu z této kolaborace: Terrex Skychaser. Ten v rámci řady menších stylistických změn obdržel sice tkaničky tradiční ale v kombinaci s Boostem a terénní podrážkou  celkově působí víc jako model pro extrémní přírodní podmínky, než jako hybrid vhodný na každodenní nošení.

adidas Consortium X Livestock tak představuje alternativu pro sneakerheads co tráví víkendy v přírodě ale nechtějí dělat kompromis mezi funkcí a teniskou s příběhem. Pokud patříte do téhle kategorie oba modely, které měly release 29.9. už najdete na Footshopu.

A, B, C or D?