Pharrell Williams, a performer, producer, composer, philanthropist, and designer, celebrates ten years of collaboration with adidas with one of the brand’s iconic silhouettes, Samba.
Collaboration is essential for Pharrell
Since his beginnings in music production, Pharrell Williams has formed alliances with such notable figures as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Drake, Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, Frank Ocean, and Tyler, The Creator. An impressive name-dropping that has grown since Pharrell’s incursion into design, The Millionaire collection for Louis Vuitton in 2005, Kiehl’s, Moncler, Uniqlo, G-Star and of course Chanel.
Among them all, adidas stands out for the consistency of its message and the length of its collaboration, which lasted ten years. The launch of its new collection, consisting of six adidas Originals Samba colorways, is a celebration of that decade of collaborations.
adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams Stan Smith (2014)
Their first collection, in 2014, established the lines that have been followed in subsequent collaborations: silhouettes drawn from the brand’s archive and plenty of colour. Straight from the adidas archives, the monochromatic Stan Smith in blue, red and black was accompanied by luxurious leather jackets inspired by the classic Superstar. On them, the idea of equality represented by an = symbol.
adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams Superstar Supercolor (2015)
One of Pharrell’s most impactful actions with adidas came in 2015 with a simultaneous release of 50 colorways of the adidas Superstar Supercolor. The image of the full pack was eye-catching, but its release with different colorways for different geographic locations reignited the debate about limited editions.
adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams NMD HU (2016)
With the precedent of the success of the adidas NMD and carefully hype with previous sightings, the adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams NMD HU used the name that the product signed some of his more personal projects with, Human Race.
The NMD Hu featured a new customisable lacing system, a snug fit thanks to Primeknit, and cushioning from the desired Boost.
After the first colorway, yellow, many other colorways expanded its influence, with special collaborations such as those with Chanel or Human Made.
adidas Humanrace Football Collection (2020)
Unexpected and a few years ahead of the Blokecore, a collection inspired by some of the classic jerseys of Arsenal, Bayern, Juventus, Manchester and Real Madrid, unified with an aesthetic that mimics hand-painting and inspired by the imperfect beauty of the human spirit.
adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams Humanrace Samba (2024)
The new collection from adidas and Pharrell continues to use the Samba as a canvas, this time using a cream background and six colors to dress up the 3-Stripes: black, red, yellow, green, blue and white.
If in other occasions Pharrell has bet on generating a great impact with oversized silhouettes or with the use of color, in this new collection he uses the details; ECCO leather (a traditional Danish leather manufacturer), the zigzag stitching of the 3-Stripes or the floating piece in the heel.
The six colorways of the adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams Humanrace Samba are now available at FOOTDISTRICT.