Donald Glover‘s Adidas collaboration is finally here — and it’s as unconventional as his fans might expect.
Glover, who uses the stage name Childish Gambino as a recording artist, first teamed up with the Three Stripes in September 2018. Now the first fruits of the creative partnership are here, with three sneaker styles and an accompanying short-film series.
The 35-year-old entertainer’s goal for the project is “to encourage people to think about how their stories can be told on their feet.”
“Value isn’t quantified by what you wear, rather the experiences from them. And you make the decision on what works for you, you live through your own lens,” he explained in a release. “The partnership for me is about being able to exemplify what doing your own thing truly looks and feels like.”
To carry out this vision, the shoes feature deconstructed detailing like uneven stitching and inside-out lacing. The sides of the canvas are left intentionally unstitched, and each shoe comes with three pairs of laces (all are meant to become frayed over time).
In addition to the product launch, Glover is releasing a series of films starring himself alongside Mo’Nique (professional skateboarder Na-Kel Smith makes a cameo). The film series is meant to show that worn shoes aren’t merely dirty — they’re a reflection of the vividness of life experience.
The “Community” actor celebrated the launch with a nontraditional event, inviting young artists and innovators to meet him and preview the films. He also had a buzzy activation at Coachella, AirDropping fans invitations to come pick up a pair of shoes at the Indio, Calif., music festival, which wraps up this Sunday.
“Our partnerships are built on a foundation of creating moments of inspiration that we could not achieve alone,” Adidas Originals senior design director Chris Law said in a statement. “As a visionary, we admire Glover’s capability to surpass ‘genres’ and uniquely tell a story. From a design perspective, we drove the aesthetic of this collection based on Adidas’ rich history in classic sneakers and Glover’s philosophy of understated points of interest and appreciation for how shoes evolve with wear, expressing more personality over time. Between Glover’s artistic vision and our expertise, we will continue to evolve and look forward to where that takes us.”
Fans can look for the Nizza ($80), the Lacombe ($90) and the Continental 80 ($100). All three shoes will be available globally starting April 26.
Below, go behind the scenes with Meek Mill at his cover shoot with FN.
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