An Experience Created for One Piece Fans

When a collaboration draws from a universe as instantly recognisable as One Piece, the product tells only part of the story.

Nike brings the world of one of the most influential manga franchises to a collection of footwear and apparel inspired by its characters, references and most recognisable elements. The collection stands on its own, while revealing additional details to those who know the universe from the inside.

In Europe, the collection has reached only six selected stores. FOOTDISTRICT is one of them. And we wanted to create something special for the occasion.

Our connection with such a specific community led us to approach the launch differently. To access the opportunity to purchase the Nike Air Max Plus “Ope Ope”, participants had to put their One Piece knowledge to the test. We created a quiz specifically for the occasion, giving those who understood everything behind the collection a chance to prove it.

FOOTDISTRICT Madrid as a Nike x One Piece Laboratory

The community response confirmed that this collaboration had a story worth telling beyond the product.

We transformed the entrance of FOOTDISTRICT Madrid into a laboratory inspired by Nike’s vision, creating a space where research, innovation and the stories of the characters come together.

The space invites visitors to discover the creative process behind the collaboration and turns the visit into an interactive experience. Each element acts as another clue within the narrative, connecting the design of the sneakers with the One Piece universe and the energy of the Ope Ope no Mi.

The objective was simple: we wanted those coming to collect their pair to find more than a box. For a few minutes, they could step into the universe behind the collaboration.

The response exceeded our expectations. From the very beginning, the space sparked the curiosity of those who visited the store. People stopped to discover every detail, share the experience and, of course, search for references they recognised from the One Piece universe. Seeing the community’s enthusiasm around the installation was probably one of the most rewarding parts of the entire launch.

We also wanted the experience to leave participants with something tangible. We created three posters inspired by the collection, available as prizes through our slot machine.

Thank you to everyone who took part, visited the store, put their One Piece knowledge to the test and shared the experience with us. And thank you to everyone who made it possible for FOOTDISTRICT Madrid to become, for a few days, a small gateway into this universe.

In the first two episodes of FOOTNOTES, we already found it difficult to define our guests, Frankie Pizá and Jaume Ripoll. In CAP3, we follow the journey of Julia de Castro, and it proves just as difficult.

Julia arrives at FOOTDISTRICT Madrid after putting the finishing touches to her first solo exhibition, La ausencia es la obra. The journey here is a familiar one: in Valverde, the neighbourhood where FOOTDISTRICT Madrid is located, the luthier who used to tune her violin had his workshop.

A life between disciplines

The violin and the exhibition might seem like two distant poles, but Julia de Castro’s life is full of unexpected connections. Her journey moves from classical theatre to performance, from music to cinema. During the conversation, we talk about her best-known role as an actress, but also about her other facets: historian, sound designer, cuplet singer and film director.

CAP3 of FOOTNOTES follows these leaps between disciplines, trying to uncover what lies behind Julia de Castro’s zigzags. Changing disciplines means starting again, learning new codes and accepting that there is always something left to discover.

From Ávila to the World

It all starts in Ávila, a city proud of its smallness that becomes the starting point for a question running through the episode: don’t we all come from somewhere different?

Julia carries something of that sense of smallness with her, adding fragments of every place she passes through. Always embracing the singularity of each one. That is why listening to her album La historiadora can take you to Mexico or Tucson. Watching On The Go might have you expecting a Southern accent from Julia. And from her time in Italy, she brought back an exhaustive study of a 17th-century text about prostitution.

Julia de Castro at FOOTNOTES

A conversation about changing direction, learning all over again and accepting that every new discipline also requires a certain degree of humility.

Because perhaps that is one of the constants running through her journey: not knowing exactly where the next stop will be, and having enough curiosity to get there.

Barcelona 92: The Birth of the Dream Team

For Michael Jordan, Barcelona holds a special meaning. The 1992 Olympic Games were the first to allow NBA players to participate and, although Michael had already competed in 1984 as an amateur, Barcelona marked the creation of the greatest team in basketball history: the Dream Team.

The importance of those Olympic Games was reflected even in a detail on his sneakers. For the first time, his footwear was adapted to a specific moment, replacing the usual 23 seen on his Air Jordan 7 with a 9, the number he wore while representing the United States national team.

Barcelona 92 would forever remain a special place for Jordan.

An Air Jordan 7 Inspired by Joan Miró

In 2008, Nike celebrated the Beijing Olympic Games by opening pop-up spaces in cities that had previously hosted Summer Olympics. For Barcelona, the brand prepared something special: a limited-edition Air Jordan 7 that connected the city directly with one of its most recognised artists, Joan Miró.

The painter and sculptor was not only born in Barcelona and developed much of his career there, but his work is also deeply present throughout the city through sculptures, parks, and public spaces.

The Air Jordan 7 “Miró” special edition adopted the artist’s vibrant colours, creating a palette that some also linked to the Olympic rings. Long before the era of major collaborations, this Jordan represented something completely different, far removed from what had been seen before.

The Beginning of a New Era for Jordan

Released exclusively in Barcelona, the Air Jordan 7 “Miró” became a turning point and helped open the door for future special editions. Its impact went beyond Michael Jordan himself, who had already retired permanently by then, and proved that Jordan Brand could have a new life by connecting with future generations.

Turned into a grail for collectors, its resale prices eventually became a symbol of an era and confirmed the cultural value that sneakers could achieve.

Barcelona as a Source of Inspiration

The return of the Air Jordan 7 “Miró” means looking back at Barcelona and its artists as a creative starting point. A city where sport, art, and culture came together to create one of the most unique stories in the Jordan universe.

One space, many rhythms

The ASICS GEL-KINETIC FR moves through a sequence of moments where motion and pause belong to the same experience. A few quick steps. A stop. Looking around. Checking a map. Taking a photograph. Moving again.

There is no clear division between the journey and the destination. The surroundings change with the people moving through them: concrete, steps, warm light and open horizons become one continuous landscape experienced from the ground up.

It is also a landscape to share. Two people can follow different rhythms and still arrive at the same place. Movement creates encounters, detours and moments that were never part of the plan.

From the archive to the next step

The GEL-KINETIC FR uses ASICS history as material for something new. Its design draws from the GEL-KINETIC and GEL-FRANTIC series of the 2000s, combining technical panelling, a streamlined profile and a distinctly sculpted sole.

Underfoot, an updated Scutoid GEL structure applies insights from research into walking motion and foot pressure. TRUSSTIC adds stability, FLYTEFOAM provides lightweight cushioning and AHAR rubber reinforces high-wear areas. The technology is there to support everyday movement, rather than decide what that movement should look like.

Its two debut colourways offer different readings of the same silhouette. Mixing earthy shades with softer highlights vs a more technical route, using contrast to reveal the lines and volumes of the shoe.

Move your body, move your mind

Movement changes the space around you. It can also change the way you see it. Sometimes a different pace is all it takes to find another perspective.

The ASICS GEL-KINETIC FR is made for that journey. The part you planned and everything that happens in between. Move, pause, change direction, start again. Now available at FOOTDISTRICT.

Free The Youth is a cultural platform born in Accra, Ghana, that has successfully translated the energy of its community into a global language. Founded by a group of young creatives, FTY moves between fashion, art, and visual storytelling, building bridges between Africa and the rest of the world through an authentic aesthetic deeply connected to its surroundings.

Its relationship with Jordan Brand comes from a natural shared vision: both go beyond the product itself, understanding sport and culture as drivers of change and self-expression. The Air Jordan 16 x Free The Youth collaboration represents this dialogue, reinterpreting the silhouette through the lens of contemporary African identity while projecting it towards the future.

To celebrate the launch, FOOTDISTRICT Barcelona hosts a space dedicated to Free The Youth and the Jordan 16, where the experience goes beyond the sneaker. A place to discover the FTY universe in the city, inviting visitors to explore not only a silhouette, but everything it represents.

An activation connecting Barcelona and Accra, reaffirming the power of stories when they are told from within.

1. It All Started with a Solution

Long before Eastpak existed, there was an intuition: observing how people move. In the 1930s, the father of Eastpak’s founder, a supermarket owner, noticed a recurring gesture: shoppers stopping when they could no longer carry more with their shopping baskets. He solved it with a new creation: the first supermarket cart. A design born from necessity. The same logic was already there: making everyday life flow better.

But there was something else. People did not understand the cart until they saw it in use. So Sylvan Goldman thought about how to introduce it: people walking through the aisles with carts, integrating them into their daily routine. Today, we would call it a brand activation or a performance. Back then, it was simply common sense. And it worked.

2. Military Precision, Civil Adoption

Eastern Canvas Products was founded in 1952 to create bags for the U.S. military. Tough materials, durable stitching, products designed to last. In the 1970s, peace brought a surplus of military supplies. Just like the M65 jacket or cargo pants, these items were adapted for civilian use and completely separated from their military origins.

Eastern Canvas Products’ bags and backpacks found a new place.

3. Eastpak Is Born

In 1976, Eastpak was born as a way of adapting these products to everyday life, introducing more padded designs created for daily use.

4. A Design That Doesn’t Need Updating

Its first major design was the Padded Pak’r, a model that does not follow fashion because it never depended on it. Its shape responds to use, and that is why, half a century later, it remains almost unchanged. In a cycle dominated by the temporary, that stability makes it something rare: a standard.

5. When Colour Comes Into Play

By the mid-1980s, colour transformed the perception of the product. The backpack stopped being neutral and became a choice. It was not only about what you carried, but how you carried it. This is where it began to connect with identity.

6. Back to the Future

Some objects, without trying, naturally fit into visions of the future. While Back to the Future imagined what was to come, with designs we still remember today, the Padded Pak’r quietly stole the spotlight with a clean, functional, and timeless aesthetic. A reminder that well-designed objects always work. Eastpak’s appearance in Back to the Future did not receive the same media attention as other designs created specifically for the film. However, its backpacks were already accessible to everyone at the time, and people are still wearing them today.

7. A Personal Archive in Motion

For generations, Eastpak has been a portable archive: notes, tapes, clothes, secrets. In environments where everything else was standardized through uniforms and codes, the backpack became a space for individuality, a place for personal identity.

8. From Tool to Language

Its adoption by graffiti artists in the 1980s and 1990s was not accidental. Durable, discreet, and capable of carrying everything needed without failing, it became part of hip-hop culture as a real tool. Through that journey, it became a symbol.

9. Movement as a Natural Extension

When Eastpak introduced wheeled luggage in the late 1990s, it expanded its universe. The same principles: durability, functionality, honest design, applied to a generation that was increasingly mobile. From school to travel, without friction.

For BIRKENSTOCK, the landscape is more than just a setting. Every step transforms both the walker and the path beneath them. Earth, water, and light interact with BIRKENSTOCK’s iconic summer silhouettes, naturally blending into an environment where everything moves with ease. Each image captures a direct connection between body and terrain, highlighting the brand’s functional DNA and its commitment to a more conscious way of experiencing the world.

Away from artifice, this project embraces an honest, enduring beauty that exists beyond fleeting trends. The starting point is freedom of movement, with time as an ally. The sandals follow the rhythm of those who walk without hurry — exploring, feeling, and staying present.

Every frame carries a clear intention: to celebrate the pleasure of simplicity. Feet sinking into the sand, steps meeting the water, journeys that are not defined by a destination but by the experience itself. BIRKENSTOCK proposes a summer lived from within — not observed from a distance, but experienced through every sense.

An invitation to reconnect with our surroundings, slow down, and rediscover the value of the essential. Because walking, in its purest form, can also become a way of expression.

With the World Cup concluded and Spain celebrating, it’s a good moment to review the style of this 2026 edition in six key trends.

Blokecore

This World Cup arrived at a unique moment. Traditionally, World Cup summers are when kits explode onto the market, refreshed specifically for the tournament. However, the 2020s brought something new to the streets: blokecore. Football design completely departed from its original function, evolving into a style we’ve seen in hundreds of workwear pieces, becoming the uniform of a new generation. For the first time, by the time the World Cup arrived, jerseys were already a trend. Football shirts stopped being mere identifiers of team loyalty and became a matter of style. This edition even saw previously overlooked goalkeeper kits join the celebration.

Retro 1994

In this tournament, hosted by three countries, the U.S. stood out. This naturally recalled the 1994 World Cup in the United States. At that time, the context was very different, with no professional league and a sport eager to enter new markets. For many current football communicators, it was their first World Cup memory. The 2026 edition evoked 1994: U.S. denim kits, Mexico goalkeeper Jorge Campos’s colorful jerseys, and oversized EQT stripes resurfaced through adidas collaborations with BAPE, Willy Chavarria, or Brain Dead.

Collaborations

While not entirely new, 2026 showcased adidas, Puma, and Nike collaborating with diverse brands across disciplines: Jacquemus, Palace, Patta, Virgil Abloh Archive, or Salehe Bembury were directly linked to teams and official kits. BAPE, Willy Chavarria, SP5DER, and KITH leveraged this momentum to connect with football beyond official deals, exploring the limits of “official” apparel. In Coca-Cola’s case, irony was part of the strategy, creating bootleg-inspired pieces.

Pink

In a tournament where each player has a color identity, pink emerged as the main conversation topic. Most major brands used pink as the base color for their boots, creating a strange uniformity: from a distance, everything looked the same. Chosen for its high contrast with the green pitch, the effect was the opposite of expected. By the second stage, adidas and Nike introduced new packs that softened the pink impact.

Football and Luxury

Since 2010, Louis Vuitton has been an official World Cup collaborator, visible in the Trophy Trunk. In 2026, LV advanced further, becoming Official Supplier and Brand Licensee, enabling limited capsule collections and luxury travel accessories inspired by the tournament. Hublot, also under LVMH, serves as official timekeeper, and Boggi Milano is FIFA’s official tailor. Among teams, Zegna dresses Portugal, Loewe Spain, and Hugo Boss the United States. Luxury has firmly entered international football competitions.

Spain’s Away Jersey

Official team kit presentations are complex, requiring balance between stories, sensitivities, and design adjustments. This year, the adidas Spain away jersey made an immediate impact at its official Los Angeles unveiling, reviving the adidas trefoil, telling a story tied to literature, and offering elegant design. Rarely do presentations receive unanimous praise. The away jersey sold out in every restock and flooded the streets (even beyond official models), creating a new phenomenon for Spain. With Spain’s victory, this jersey may already be considered a legendary design.

Time will tell whether these trends are here to stay or will be forgotten among memes. Now, there are only four years left to wait for the next edition of the World Cup.

A project born from calm

In a moment where speed dominates creation, FOOTDISTRICT and adidas propose a different approach: pause to observe, analyze, and connect. The Far Residency artistic residency provides the perfect framework, while the adidas Stan Smith becomes the focal point of a creative process that finds its fullest expression away from everyday noise. In silence, each line, texture, and form is perceived clearly, opening up a space for new interpretations.

Creation steps out of its usual context. We spoke with Srger and Dan Lam about their experience at Far Residency, about creation, and how a blank space can invite new forms of making.

Sergio Gómez Caballero (Srger): trial and error as language

Sergio Gómez Caballero (Srger) works with materiality and cultural archaeology, transforming the silhouette into a visual study. His process, born from trial and error, seeks to reinterpret forms and draw new possibilities from urban and rural environments. Each decision reflects a dialogue with materials and space: the Stan Smith ceases to be a mere object and becomes a conversation partner guiding creation. Far Residency provides calm and large-scale formats as an option.

Dan Lam (Sopopomo): sculpture as communication

Dan Lam explores visceral, tactile sculpture, transforming surfaces with resin and foam into landscapes that converse with biology and material poetry. Her work at Far Residency enhances interaction with other artists, showing that communication is a central tool in the creative process. The Stan Smith becomes a support for this sensory language, where creation is no longer a monologue.

Community as a catalyst

The project not only celebrates reinterpretation of the silhouette but also collaboration among creators. Sessions, dinners, and conversations between artists from different disciplines generate a constant flow of ideas and perspectives. Each interaction amplifies the experience, reinforcing FOOTDISTRICT and adidas’ vision: time and observation are the true engines of creativity.

A laboratory of experimentation

This initiative demonstrates how an icon like the Stan Smith can continually transform, revealing new dimensions when observed through calm and context. FOOTDISTRICT and adidas show that creation can be a collective and meditative act, where space, community, and artistic discipline converge.