Game Plan A

There are many cool projects us designers, such as myself, have seen over the years. I’ve had the rare and fortunate opportunity to see amazing work from our colleagues and hear all the stories behind the designs. One of those projects was our collaboration with Korn. The story about how the Korn partnership went down and the designs that came about was pretty special, and I was fascinated to find out how this project evolved.

Depending on where you fly in the world, there’s one document you might need to gain entry into your destination country. Your passport. It just so happens that in the near future your clothing will also need a passport of its own, at least a digital one. But let’s take a step back to provide some background. Towards the end of 2019, the European Commission, one of the European Union’s key political institutions, introduced its environmental and climate strategy, named the European Green Deal.

Cricket fans around the world are currently engrossed as their national teams are battling it out for the ultimate honours in India. The South African women’s national cricket captain, Laura Wolvaardt, knows a thing or two about navigating the high stakes of performing on the world’s stage. She played a key role in South Africa making it to their first International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup final earlier this year.

At adidas, we’ve long been a force for change, driven by our unwavering belief in equal opportunities in sports. Our mission is clear: we’re here to protect the places we play and make sport equal for everyone. As part of our mission to make sport equal for all, we created the adidas Breaking Barriers Project to help break barriers for over 50,000 girls and women in Europe.

Two adidas colleagues popped up on our radar in their pursuit of knowledge. Dana Kassymova and Jamie Lawless received emails surprising them with the news that the 3-Stripes had recognized them as a LinkedIn Learning top learner. As part of the learning opportunities offered at adidas, Jamie and Dana saw the benefits of acquiring new skill sets. And they continue to role model their nonstop quest for knowledge on a wide range of topics.

Most basketball shoes are created to accommodate the structure of the male foot only, while neglecting the unique features of the female foot. The nuances of the female foot result in a different pressure loading, slimmer toe box shape, higher arches, and narrower heels. Without focusing on these details in the design phase, female athletes often compromise their needs and settle for basketball shoes that are too stiff or lack support.

In India, everyone is born into cricket. Cricket is not a sport, it’s a religion. It is one of the biggest cultural drivers of the nation and there’s a passion, commitment, and intensity shared by 1.4 billion cricket lovers in India. Hence, it was only fitting when world’s most loved sports brand invested in the nation’s most loved sport, signing partnership with The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier this year.

Sitting across from me is the lauded Portuguese field general of soccer. He’s coached in multiple countries. He’s won the most elusive of trophies. Twenty-four and counting, in fact. José Mourinho is currently the skipper for A.S. Roma. With a stern gaze and an admirable self-assuredness, I’m getting strong Francis Ford Coppola cinematic vibes. True to José’s on-camera press conference stage persona.

Jet lag doesn’t faze the 21-year-old New Zealand World Cup alpine skier. Fresh from a long-haul flight from New Zealand to Germany, Alice Robinson shrugs off the notion that jumping back in time has startled her circadian rhythm. The Australian born, New Zealand raised ripper is a Zen mixture of spry and chill.