The New Wales Bonner X Adidas Collection Is Spring’s Hottest Collaboration

Grace Wales Bonner founded her eponymous brand Wales Bonner in 2014, rooted in “a distinct notion of cultural luxury that infuses European heritage with an Afro Atlantic spirit”. The London-based house has gone from strength to strength, achieving the fashion holy grail, a combination of commercial success and critical respect – Wales Bonner has won multiple awards, including the LVMH Young Designer Prize. Genderless cuts and sporty details are in the Wales Bonner DNA, so the brand’s partnership with German athletic giant adidas – with the first joint collection released in 2020 – has always felt like a dream collaboration. Since then, the house has partnered with the brand’s heritage line, adidas Originals, in sell-out biannual apparel and footwear edits.

Apparel-wise, there are pieces that perfectly fuse a sporting spirit with contemporary style – a refreshing take on athleisure. The classic silhouettes of adidas Originals are updated with Wales Bonner’s instinct for knowing what we want to wear, and introducing fresh takes on the classics, with each piece marked with the brand’s instantly recognizable ‘Trefoil’ logo. The latest collection includes track pants and a zipped jacket duo in navy and royal blue, illustrating Wales Bonner’s knack for balancing retro appeal with a modern mood. A sporty anorak and shorts are cut in pale pink nylon to deliver sporting cool in spades. The tops define retro appeal and will segue neatly from gym class to off-duty wardrobe – a terry polo in burgundy (a key color trend) and a loose-knit T-shirt in classic navy and trimmed in fresh white, are sure to become everyday staples.

The wildly successful capsule collections see Wales Bonner delve into the extensive adidas archive to reimagine historic pieces. Case in point, the ‘Samba’ sneaker, which the British brand was, at least in part, responsible for not only reviving, but cementing as a must-have that is so popular it can be tricky to track down. And, for SS25, Wales Bonner has done it again. Fusing technical sporting nous and a retro-inspired aesthetic from adidas, with the designer’s exacting eye and on-the-pulse instincts, the lineup feels destined for the same instant success previous releases have enjoyed – expect cult picks aplenty.

Central to every adidas Originals by Wales Bonner capsule is the footwear. Having successfully recreated a cult icon with the ‘Samba’, this season, the brand has turned its attention to the ‘Superstar’ – a high-top sneaker classic. Under Wales Bonner’s deft hands, the silhouette is subtly reimagined with a suede upper and back tab – a transformation that seems likely to catapult the much-loved style to the same dizzying heights enjoyed by the ‘Samba’. Or try the British brand’s take on the ‘Lo Pro’, in a series of colors, including a camel suede that delivers the perfect vintage mood. Like the apparel, the beauty is in the details, and the magnetism lies in the effortless cool these designs deliver. Welcome to your new-season uniform…

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