For sneaker lovers, it is difficult to arouse their interest in the large number of new product releases and joint cooperation every week. Many brands or designers have just completed a joint name by simply modifying some color schemes and simply adding their own logos. However, consciously in-depth research on the history, background story and design process behind the joint shoes, so as to design beautiful, practical and meaningful joint cooperation is less and less. Blondey, a professional skateboarder, artist and founder of THAMES MMXX from London, UK, is working hard to become the latter.
The collaborative journey between Blondey and adidas began in 2019 when they debuted the groundbreaking transparent Superstar in five colorways. Following the popularity of the collection, Blondey also gained more creative freedom and confidence to design the new AB adidas by Blondey collection. Blondey told us: “From the earliest days of the Superstar project, I came in with a purist mindset and didn’t want to change the structure too much. So, in this Gazelle collaboration, I wanted to take a different approach and add my favorites. Several style elements, which is what the shoe looks like now.”
For the multi-creator, Gazelle was never a shoe he liked since he was a child, but it is more like a logo of the German sportswear brand, so he also wanted to commemorate this pair of shoes through his own lens. . He told HYPEBEAST: “It’s never been my go-to shoe, but I’m excited to have the opportunity to redesign it because I’ve always respected it. Seriously, this shoe has been around for over 60 years and now The styles and trends of the company are varied, changing back and forth in more than 60 seconds, let alone for more than 60 years.”
Regarding this collaboration, Blondey hopes to achieve two main goals with this design, one of which is versatility. The sneakers themselves are fairly understated, with the Slate upper and Gum outsole colorway being a very versatile colorway, “They can be worn any way you like! I wear them mostly when I’m skating because I want to remind you People, functional sneakers can be any look.”
Another goal is durability, which he briefly mentioned when he first revealed the pair in early 2022. Various elements of the shoe’s design pay homage to the Archive, with an emphasis on comfort and durability. The technology is taken from the Indoor Super, the TPU eye support and T-shaped toe details refer to Superstars, the upper is designed with a thick ripstop to provide functional support for skateboarding, and the Ortholite insole provides the wearer with a comfortable foot feel.
“For people who aren’t skating in this shoe, they don’t want to believe in functionality. They want to chalk it up to a fashion shoe. But I’m glad I hear from people every day. Tell me they’ve been skating in my shoes for months on end.” Although Blondey is only 24 years old, he’s already accomplished a lot as a seasoned designer. While he sometimes shows off his British humour, in the end he just wants to give people a voice through his product design. “I want the player or skater who wears them to be at their best, not only in terms of functionality, but also in terms of how they look. Shoes are like clothes, as Vivienne Westwood said: there are clothes you put on You can feel a force to be reckoned with because you are the clothes you wear.”
In the Sole Mates column in January last year, Blondey has already disclosed the news of the shoe cooperation with us, and the AB Gazelle Indoor by Blondey series shoes have also been released on March 30th through THAMES MMXX, and will be released on April 2nd. On sale today on the CONFIRMED APP for £108 (~$142).
The full apparel capsule collection will be available through THAMES MMXX on April 20th and to adidas on April 22nd. Interested parties may wish to continue to pay attention to our reports.