Adidas' Fresh Take on Its Originals Line is a Blueprint for Intentionality

When innovation and heritage merge, something special happens—and fashion is exemplary of that. Constantly referencing the past, while paying attention to present culture all to push the boundary forward is a delicate dance the style community has entangled with for decades. Now throw sport into the mix, where performance and the evergreen search for "better" unleashes a whole new caveat. This is our current landscape—simultaneously longing for better and for what once was. No one is satiating the appetite of this demand quite like adidas—and it's because of this temperature-controlled cheat code that sits at the ground level of a building called Laces in Herzogenaurach, Germany where the company's global headquarters reside.

It's unlike anything you've ever seen. It's beautifully chaotic upon entry. With patches of fabrics, unreleased samples, scribbled on whiteboards decorating the walls. And behind a rather unassuming black door, lies the backbone of a brand. Nearly 40,000 pieces of history kept between vaulted white walls. It's sterile-like (kind of like the set of Severance), and you're oddly aware of your breathing once you've crossed the threshold.

You’re given these knit, white gloves to protect the products (and make you look cool and official) before being immersed into a brand’s history that’s been cataloged and laid out right in front of you.

From the first shoe boxes in adidas’ history to the first ever adidas tracksuit ever made—completely logoless, absent of the signature three stripes. Seeing these things, the literally genesis moments of a brand, before its legacy was cemented felt raw.

Images courtesy of adidas Golf

It was a reminder that nothing is born out of thin air. There’s no way of predicting or knowing which materials, technology or iconography people will gravitate towards or what will transcend decades, all there is, is the willingness to try.

We know the three stripes, we know the trefoil of Originals, but in that room your learn the why. Why those symbols, those materials, those color stories were chosen and how they played a much bigger role than just “looking cool”, and you uncover the effort of innovation.

Susen Friedirch grew up a sports fan. She loved to row. She also loved museums. So imagine her surprise when an opportunity arose to work in a museum-like environment for a sports brand nonetheless.

“I ended up [studying] museum studies. Which means structuring collections and information in ways that people could work with it, and that we keep things [for] a very long time,” explains Friedirch.

As the senior manager of history management at adidas HQ, it's her job to not only know the archives in and out, but provide the context for each and every piece inside of it. The archive existed before her, but since she started with the brand of the three stripes she's helped structure it, create a search database to catalogue products, introduced conservation standards (there are things that are nearly a century old in the archive), and be the person to point the creative team in the proper direction when a new idea is sparked.

So when the adidas Golf team, based in Carlsbad, California, began their quest to bring adidas Originals back to golf—their first point of contact is Friedirch and the team in the archives.

"Carlsbad is a little bit further away, than a walk down stairs, but the whole collection is digitized. That was one of the first things I did, is making sure that colleagues worldwide have access to the archive which is not only physical products, we also have a collection of digitized catalogs," Friedirchs said. "What I did for golf, was an overview how [adidas Golf] evolved, where we are coming from."

Adidas Golf dates back to 1975, when the first ever golf shoe that was created and sent to market from the brand. It was a classic, very of the times silhouette—with the signature three stripes down the upper. It was completely leather, with sharp metal spikes attached to the sole—a sure fire way to avoid slipping. But on the very back of the heel tab, you'll see the trefoil logo.

For most of us, the trefoil logo is representative of the more lifestyle side of the sports brand. Outside of the workout and performance gear, Originals has become a real street-style staple.

From the world's biggest athletes to entertainers and influencers—Originals is calling card to what's trending. It's the track suits, Sambas, heck even adidas denim exists and the coolest person you know probably wears it.

Bridging that gap, of what's culturally successful and making it wearable for golf—that's the resurgence of adidas golf.

Sandy Lyle (1988), Getty Images

What we're seeing from adidas with its most recent iteration of Originals in golf is a nod to the past. Retro has never been cooler, but this isn't new for them, this is how it's always been. It's a gentle reminder to the broader community that there's over 75 years of heritage to play off of, and there's so much more to tap into.

The rollout is a playbook to intentionality. Launching the week before the Masters, with one of its brightest stars in Ludvig Åberg on golf's biggest stage, decked out in the newest line was anything if not a flex. Nearly four decades after Sandy Lyle won in the three stripes (with the trefoil on his chest and sleeve), adidas chose the perfect moment to stake their claim in driving the golf style conversation forward. "Yes, retro is back, but for us, it never left".

And then there's its other bright, young talent—Linn Grant—who is said to be very vocal in the apparel and shoe development process. Grant became a bit of a golf style icon when she showed up to St. Andrews last summer rocking a pair of fluffy earmuffs.

With a quick browse of her Instagram you can see that she's one who stays up-to-date with trends and curates a laidback Scandy-chic vibe which translated perfectly when Grant debuted Originals Golf for women at the Chevron Championship.

Both Åberg and Grant remained true to their personal styles, while promoting the collection during the first two majors of the season—a tall task that was executed brilliantly.

For Friedirch, who has seen and interacted with adidas Golf so intimately can attest to the intentionality. "What my colleagues did, was took inspiration from the past, but transferred it to a modern, fresh thing. So you have this little visual hints of 70s, but the material is fresh. The technology is fresh. It's a visual implementation of this heritage, that says 'although Golf is a classic sport, it also can look really cool'."

Not only are the clothes and shoes refreshed, but so is the storytelling. And this feels like chapter one—adidas Originals is just getting started. This is setting the stage, showing the power behind legacy while not forgetting that just because it worked in the past doesn't guarantee success.

Originals golf is showing us that fashion is art. In the same way, that you can look at something very aesthetic and very pleasing, but once you look a little bit harder or open yourself up to curiosity there's always a story. Phase one is complete, and to be continued.