The up rise of Adidas has been caused by many different factors within the past 5 years. The brand of the three stripes really started to pick up there brand in 2013, when the introduction of "Boost" Technology had been introduced to their shoes. "Boost" is a TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane) that Adidas had bought the "rights" from BASF SE (Largest chemical producing company located in Germany) to use Boost for the next 5 years.
Originally Boost technology was used on the Adidas energy Boost. The shoe was mainly for runners and nobody really thought the technology was any good. The best technology at the time was Nike's Lunarlon, Air, Zoom, and Free. Many thought Lunarlon would be unbeaten in comfort, bounce back, and the durability. Boost had really kicked off after Kanye had worn a pair of Triple White Ultra Boost during his "Life of Pablo" tour. The week after Kanye had wore the Ultra Boost, the silhouette had disappeared around the world, and being flipped for double to triple the retail price (Retail $160 USD).
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| Kanye West wearing the Adidas Triple White Ultra Boost |
Yeezy brand was and still is a big hit that elevated Adidas to be better than before. Kanye West had signed with Adidas in 2015. This was after Kanye had been in a deal with Nike for nearly 7 years. The move shook the sneaker world and made each and every Kanye X Nike shoe to skyrocket in price. It wasn't long till Ye and Adidas started to produce some premium collaborations. In February 2015, the first Adidas Yeezy 750 was brought out to the public to purchase. The shoe had many elements that were different and had the Kanye design with the Adidas touch. The 750 was a mid top, constructed with a full suede upper and had a full length "Boost" mid sole. Not long after, Kanye was back with the release of the Yeezy Boost 350 V1. The 350 is the staple shoe that nearly all sneakerheads have in their collections. Its constructed with a knit upper and once again, a full length "Boost" mid sole.
The same year, Adidas took a break from designing running specific shoes and came out with a neutral (casual/lifestyle) sneaker. Once again, Adidas took full advantage of "Boost" and put it in the Adidas NMD. The Adidas NMD was another huge lift for Adidas in 2016 , as Pharrell Williams used the silhouette of the NMD and created his collaboration/collection "Human Race" Pharrell wanted to showcase Humans and colour. Each Human race had a "Boost" mid sole, unique lacing system, and an embroider set of letters or words related to Humans and life.
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| Pharrell Williams Human Race Collection |
