The adidas Adilette, designed by Adi Dassler in 1963, was the culmination of nearly a decade of research into the perfect flip-flop design.
adidas Adilette, innovation
The term “innovation” is rarely used to describe everyday items. However, some of them conceal extremely innovative processes and developments that took years to produce the desired results. The adidas Adilette, a simple bathing flip-flop, is an example of an innovative product that we often regard as utilitarian in our daily lives. But its history is the story of years of development to find the perfect product.
The creation of the adidas Adilette
In the 1960s, adidas founder Adi Dassler collaborated directly with the German national football team, which required a shower shoe to prevent slipping and infection. Adi had already considered a sandal for recreational use, but taking them into the shower made a significant difference: they needed to be made of materials that dried quickly.
adidas Adilette, a leisurewear classic
Adi Dassler has been searching for the perfect material since 1963, and he discovered it in a new manufacturing process that involved creating the soles through foam injection. A design that was not perfected until 1972. On the sole, the suction cup design prevented slipping. The first Adilette were used, not only by soccer players in the locker room, but also by Olympic swimmers, who used them on the way to the pool or when collecting their medals. These moments were much more visible than the showers in the soccer changing rooms. It was from there that the adidas Adilette became popular as leisurewear footwear. During the following decades, the adidas Adilette became associated with moments of relaxation.
Adilette, myth and collaborations
The adidas Adilette (with or without socks), like other sports performance products, began as a mass product and then became a regular appearance among celebrities such as Mark Zuckerberg (his Adissage are an evolution of the original Adilette), Khloe Kardashian, Katy Perry, Gigi Hadid, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Justin Bieber. From the original design, the Adilette has been updated with new designs and collaborations with Raf Simons, Palace, Gucci, Jeremy Scott, Hello Kitty, and Pharrell Williams.
In the sandal section of FOOTDISTRICT you can find a selection of adidas Adilette in its different versions, Adillette original, Adilette 22, adiFom Adilette, Adilette 2.0 and many more.