Put Your Best Foot Forward With Adidas Originals By Craig Green
The British designer dived into the adidas Originals archive for his second collaboration, offering a cool, contemporary sneaker that mixes high fashion and function
Ever since he stormed onto the fashion scene in 2013, British designer Craig Green has made avant-garde utility his namesake brand’s DNA. With a design aesthetic rooted in function, skewed with a futuristic, high-fashion lens, he is renowned for his edgier take on essentials that elevate the everyday closet.
Adidas Originals has been rooted in this fashion-forward function ever since it launched in 2001 as a lifestyle brand inspired by, and celebrating, the rich sporting heritage of Adidas. That’s why a collaboration between the two brands proved such a natural fit. Combining Green’s unique vantage point with adidas Originals’ cult archive, the adidas Originals by Craig Green collection, launching in May, brings together these two worlds to offer a sneaker that isn’t just a reinterpretation of a core adidas footwear classic but rather, it’s been rendered entirely anew.
“Craig Green is renowned for his edgier take on essentials that elevate the everyday closet
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For this collaboration, Green, who trained at Central Saint Martins and made his name in menswear with a gender-neutral feel, challenged himself to explore the aesthetic possibilities within adidas Originals’ cult eighties silhouette – the Squash Polta AKH. This low-profile, lace-up style has all the wearability of the ever-popular Adidas Samba, but with added intrigue thanks to its lesser-worn status: consider it the ultimate ‘If you know, you know’ of adidas Originals.
Aligned with his ethos for elevated yet understated essentials, the GC Squash Polta AKH taps into Green’s unique design codes: for his ready-to-wear collection, Green focuses on details such as raw hems and inside-out stitching to showcase the craftsmanship in even the most hardworking, and seemingly simple, closet staples – for example, his now-iconic workers’ jacket. Through this adidas Originals collaboration, that same vision manifests in the use of gauzy, transparent fabrication on the GC Squash Polta AKH, which exposes and celebrates the layered craftsmanship and myriad details that make up a signature sneaker silhouette.
First unveiled as the Made-in-Taiwan squash shoe in 1988, this silhouette taps into the current sartorial penchant for all things retro, but in a way that will outlast any seasonal trends – Green first reinterpreted this cult silhouette in his first collaboration with adidas Originals in 2022. This time, he revisited the style to render it in cool colorways that bring a vintage feel – think earthy tones mixed with pastel greens and bright blues. These spring-like tones will feel just as fresh on cool, crisp days as they do worn with summer staples in the sunshine.
“adidas Originals and Craig Green are both rooted in fashion-forward function
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The CG Squash Polta AKH has ultimate day-to-dusk wearability and will prove an accessory that pops in its own right. They’ll lend a cool and casual ease when worn with navy tailoring or crisp white shirting and bring floaty dresses down to earth if styled with ankle socks – whether paired with slinky slip dresses or voluminous cotton ones. For day, team with cut-off shorts or relaxed jeans; come night, pair with silky skirts and a cool, crossbody bag. No matter where you’re heading, they’ll earn a rightful place in your everyday shoe rotation – in other words, they’re the very definition of original.