The Adidas Archive The Footwear Collection hardcover

About the Book

The adidas story is one of groundbreaking designs， epic moments， and conceiving the all-around sports shoe， worn by the likes of Lionel Messi， Run DMC， and Madonna. A bible for sneaker fans， this book presents adidass history through more than 350 pairs of shoes from the adidas Archive， including one-of-a-kind originals， vintage models， never-before-seen prototypes， and designs from Stella McCartney， Yohji Yamamoto， Parley for the Oceans， and more.

Book Synopsis

100 years ago the brothers Adolf (Adi) and Rudolf Dassler made their first pair of sports shoes. Hundreds of groundbreaking designs， epic moments， and star-studded collabs later， this book presents the first visual review of the adidas shoe through more than 350 models including never-before-seen prototypes and one-of-a-kind originals.

To further develop and tailor his products to athletes specific needs， Dassler asked them to return their worn footwear when no longer needed， with all the shoes eventually ending up in his attic (to this day， many athletes return their shoes to adidas， often as a thank you after winning a title or breaking a world record). This collection now makes up the adidas archive， one of the largest， if not the largest archive of any sports goods manufacturer in the world--which photographers Christian Habermeier and Sebastian Jäger have been visually documenting in extreme detail for years.

Shot using the highest reproduction techniques， these images reveal the fine details as much as the stains， the tears， the repair tape， the grass smudges， the faded autographs. Its all here， unmanipulated and captured in extremely high resolution--and with it comes to light the personal stories of each individual wearer. We encounter the shoes worn by West Germanys football team during its miraculous 1954 World Cup win and those worn by Kathrine Switzer when she ran the Boston Marathon in 1967， before women were officially allowed to compete; custom models for stars from Madonna to Lionel Messi; collabs with the likes of Pharrell Williams， Raf Simons， Stella McCartney， Parley for the Oceans or Yohji Yamamoto; as well as the brands trailblazing techniques and materials， like its pioneering use of plastic waste that is intercepted from beaches and coastal communities.

With a foreword by designer Jacques Chassaing and expert texts， each picture tells us the why and the how， but also conveys the driving force behind adidas. What we discover goes beyond mere design; in the end， these are just shoes， worn out by their users who have loved them--but they are also first-hand witnesses of our sports， design， and culture history， from the beginnings of the Dassler brothers and the founding of adidas until today.

Review Quotes

A must for lovers of the footwear brand.-- GQ

The smudges， the stains， the tears， the history and all 350 models feature in extremely high detail in this extraordinary tribute to this remarkable brand.-- Forbes

A mecca for sneakerheads.-- robbreport.com

This book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Adidas sneakers.-- highsnobiety.com