When designing a more sustainable future, it’s important to not only create products that look like the future but also to reimagine the items we love today. By doing so, brands can demonstrate how the products consumers buy now, will still be there tomorrow. It makes the transition to sustainable design more appealing.
As part of this reimagining process, adidas Originals and Parley for the Oceans have partnered once again with a SS22 collection of iconic silhouettes. Each sneaker in the collection has been made with a yarn that contains at least 50 percent Parley Ocean Plastic. Parley partners with communities across the planet to prevent plastic from entering our oceans. This plastic is then processed and spun into the brand’s own yarn. The other 50 percent of the yarn is made with recycled polyester.
From what we can tell, the sneakers are all vegan, using recycled synthetic leather on the uppers. Sock liners are made with 100% recycled OrthoLite and the cover is 80% cork. Drop-in soles are made with 20% shredded Boost from production waste and 80% virgin Boost – Boost being adidas’s material technology for running.
The collection is complete with all the Originals names with the standout addition of the Nizza Parley Hi and Nizza Parley Lo. Joining the Nizza are reinterpretations of the Superstar, Stan Smith, ZX 8000, Forum Mid, Forum Low, and NMD_R1, as well as two women’s exclusives: the Forum Bold W and Nizza Platform W.
Everything has been kept monochromatic. The colorway of Cloud White, Off White and White Tint allows the materials to take the lead and make the iconic silhouettes look strong. The Nizza options puzzle together contrasting shades in a collaged look that feels handmade. The heel tab on the Superstar and Stan Smith which usually follows the curving contours of the shoe, has been replaced with a black strip of webbing.
The collection is a strong reimagining of adidas Originals’ iconic silhouettes, giving historic styles a place in the future. The next stage is to go beyond one-off collaborations; ensuring that all adidas products are produced with the same dedication to recycled materials and the planet. In the future, brands won’t have to explicitly show off their products’ sustainable credits. It should hopefully come as standard.
The adidas Originals by Parley SS22 collection dropped on April 22, with rollout scheduled across different markets throughout the coming months.