adidas Adimatic HEMP – A Y2K Hero in the Modern Day
It is often said that fashion trends follow a 20-year cycle. We have seen this happen time and time again, and while we are undoubtedly in a current Y2K boom, this age-old prophecy has yet to mislead us: sports glasses are the hottest eyewear, technical apparel can be seen on the most fashionable of icons, and chunky shoes are the weapons of choice for the modern urban explorer. Not all brands are able to integrate into this cycle though. A perfect balance of ‘then’ and ‘now’ needs to be achieved where they are seen as archival yet future-facing and contemporary all the same.
This balance is a hard-to-achieve phenomenon, but the German footwear giant, adidas, has forever been the king of reinstating their stature in the fashion scene and during this Y2K boom we see ourselves in their winning formula has yet to prove this statement false. They have proved this time and time again, but most notably with their revival of the Adimatic. A favourite amongst the Y2K crowd, this bold and chunky stepper has become an iconic silhouette in youth culture today – but how has a shoe that is more than 25 years old resonated so heavily with modern fashion-conscious Gen Z?
The Adimatic is a love letter to the Y2K era. During the 90s, skate culture was thriving, and with this came the must for tough-wearing shoes and sneakers to shred in. Simultaneously influencing each other, the hip-hop boom of the 90s also ebbed and flowed into the skate scene, energizing what was already a galivanted and flourishing rebellious scene. With street fashion and hip-hop going so hand in hand, it was no wonder you could spot baggy pants, chunky shoes, and baggy graphics tees as far as the eye could see.
With this 90s street fashion boom, adidas would proactively release a rebellious shoe that broke all the rules adidas had at the time: The Adimatic, released in 1996, would super-size the 3 stripes, along with a voluminous sole and chunky laces. Revolutionizing their traditional court shoe formula, the Adimatic became an instant hit due to its innovative nature and connection with culture. This was only further invigorated by the Ura-Hara boom happening in Japan, where they truly took the style and ran with it. The chunky features seamlessly intertwined with the style pioneers who were creating what would be known as the most influential era of street fashion. This would be the catalyst that would crown the Adimatic as one of adidas’ greatest models.
Not only an icon within street culture, the Adimatic was also a true Y2K hero with a focus on performance and durability. Nuanced design accompanies bold aesthetics to help bridge the gap between late 90s charisma and early 2000s technical excellence. This collision of aesthetics meets considered engineering has allowed the model to now sit comfortably on the feet of people from all corners of the fashion scape - from gorpcore to street fashion to Y2K aesthetics.
Now, with adidas bringing the Adimatics back to the surface last March, the silhouette continues to reestablish itself as a Y2K icon. Seen on the foot of the youth of today, the similar 90s skate rebelliousness can be seen throughout Gen Z and their footwear mimic this essence. Chunky stompers pave the streets of Milan, London, and Tokyo, and as this generation burst with creativity and self-expression, they allow their footwear to do the same.
To celebrate this energy of the youth, adidas release the Adimatic once again. Titled the Adimatic HEMP, the shoe boasts all qualities we know and love about the shoe but with further rationale. Releasing on April 20th, the shoe features a full hemp upper and comes in bold colour ways we are now used to seeing from the Adimatic range. In commemoration of the launch, we produced an editorial to champion the rising youth talents of Tokyo; audio-visual unit tamanaramen, consisting of sisters Hana and pikam, and Tokyo-based twin creatives and models, YAMEPI and TAKE.
tamanaramen were photographed at SPREAD, a club in Shimokitazawa where they usually perform live and DJ as "4ngelkidz”. The duo originally worked as solo artists but started their activities as tamanaramen in 2021. Since then, they have captivated many music fans in Japan and abroad. YAMEPI & TAKE can be seen photographed in the sabukaru office where some of YAMEPI's works are displayed, and where they have visited many times. Both work as artists and are also in charge of the JAM® brand. Both creative collectives styled the shoes themselves, representing the diverse styles that the versatile shoe can fit within.
To see more of this Admimatic content, as well as an exclusive interview with the talents on all things adidas, head over to the adidas CONFIRMED APP. Be sure to get your hands on a pair of the adidas Adimatic HEMP.
Production: BIANCO BIANCO & BULLET
Photography: Yuki Hori
Make Up: KANAKO
Hair: Hiroki Kitada
Styling Assistant: GIN
Models: YAMEPI, TAKE, Hana & pikam [tamanaramen]
