Okay, so today I decided to dig into the whole “adidas and culture” thing. It’s a pretty broad topic, so I needed to figure out where to even begin.
My Starting Point
First, I brainstormed some ideas. What comes to mind when I think of adidas and culture? Immediately, I thought of:
- Hip-hop: Run-DMC, tracksuits, the whole vibe.
- Sports: Obviously, soccer, basketball, but also how adidas is tied to major sporting events.
- Fashion: Collaborations with designers, limited-edition drops, streetwear.
- Music: Beyond hip-hop, connections to other artists, festivals, sponsorships.
Diving Deeper
I started by simply searching google. I typed in things like “adidas hip-hop history” and “adidas cultural impact.” A ton of stuff came up, articles, videos, even some academic papers (which I mostly skipped, to be honest).
I spent a good chunk of time just reading through articles, and I quickly found, that there were a lot of blogs dedicated to sneaker culture. I also start to see different time periods in history, for example, the articles told me how in the ’80s, Run-DMC’s endorsement of adidas was a HUGE deal. It was one of the first times a major sports brand really connected with hip-hop * led me down a rabbit hole of watching old music videos and interviews. Pretty cool stuff.
Then I moved on to the sports angle. I looked at adidas’s involvement in the World Cup and the Olympics. They’ve been a major player for decades, of course.
On another tab, I opened some fashion websites. I wanted to see what the current collaborations are. I checked out the adidas website itself, looking at their different lines like Yeezy, and collaborations with designers like Stella McCartney. This whole area showed me how adidas keeps reinventing itself and staying relevant.
Putting It All Together
After a few hours of this, I felt like I had a decent grasp of the basics. Adidas isn’t just a sports brand; it’s become a cultural icon. It is weaved into music, fashion, and sports in a way that few other brands have managed to achieve.
I realized that the “culture” part is constantly evolving. What was cool in the ’80s is different from what’s cool now, but adidas has managed to stay on top of it all, more or * example, today’s cultural icons could influence future consumers, while the past iconic figures may not hold the same influence today.
It was a fun day of exploring, and I definitely have a new appreciation for those three stripes!
