PORTLAND, Ore., March 11 th – Today, after much hype and expectation, adidas Running announces the highly anticipated collaborative project with legendary HBO® television series Game of Thrones . Sinc
Yes I watch GoT. Yes I love kicks. Do I think this collab is good?
No and Yes
I’m obviously conflicted, but not for the same reasons that you think. My problem isn’t that I can’t figure out who to pull for (I’m House Targaryen all day, but a White Walker Dragon is a different damn thing). My issue is about adidas’ restraint. If it is restraint. adidas just released a new UltraBOOST. I know this release has been in the works for a while, and the shoes were probably already shipped, but utilizing an older version of the UB when every version of the previous model is now on sale at almost every retailer, seems a bit shortsighted.
But… I often complain about the amount of releases by Nike. I’ve explained that Nike makes far too many shoes and that sustainability isn’t even on the menu for a company shipping 30,000 pair per day. adidas’ restraint in sticking with a model and only updating materials and colors should be considered admirable. You know what else is admirable? Going to meet with a group of people for a wedding. What isn’t admirable, not paying attention to the atmosphere and then being murdered.
Is it admirable or just naive to produce an older model when there is a newer model available? Is adidas being lazy, or are they just following through on an older release that was thrown off by the delay in shooting the final season of GoT? I’m sure it’s the latter.
Like the Nights Watch above, adidas is sitting on the wall and Winter is Coming in the form of a giant Swoosh. Actually the wall has already been breached and while fans of the show will probably like the idea of this shoe, most fans have tried to read the books and I don’t think they are the type of people who will buy a 180 dollar pair of running shoes. Have you seen George R.R. Martin? He would be more at home in a pair of all black New Balance than a pair of adidas. Which leads to another discussion point, why take the most important performance shoe and utilize it for a collab? The various houses of GoT have a common goal so I get that; but they are so far from the same that using the same shoe for each House is a bit lazy.
While it is clear that this release had to be pushed because of the decision by HBO to move the final season, it shows the limitations of relying on hype to drive engagement with a brand. When the concept for this project was created adidas UltraBOOST was hot. A year and a half later, adidas is not hot and they’ve released a new model for 2019. There in lies the trap of hype and fashion. Just this week adidas’ CEO discussed the slow down in the sale of adidas retro footwear. It would not have made sense to feature the Superstar and Stan Smith in a collection celebrating GoT.
What would have been more interesting is to dig into the archives and utilize the strategy of developing sneakers featuring older models with new tech. Which means that although the brand was stuck with the older UltraBOOST they could have added two models utilzing a more limited release of the N3XT L3V3L in an Unsullied colorway. This model would have given the brand an opportunity to tout its new cushioning technology and also introduce a color for their signature athletes entering the NBA playoffs in a few weeks.
What would have also been equally smart would have been to take a model that feels like GoT in the Sobakov and create a shoe for the Meisters. Why do I say this? Because I’m a fan and if I had a bet on one of the most important characters in the upcoming season it would be Sam Tarly, the burly meister in training who took on the responsibility of being a husband and a dad is definitely going to deliver the information that could prevent the White Walkers… at least I hope this is the case. It’s either Sam or they better get that damn Dragon Glass mined.
In either case, this collection is worth discussion, but while I admire adidas’ restraint in not releasing six thousand shoes per week, this drop might fall a little flat because it really doesn’t have a target. Fans of the show aren’t really the type of people buying premium sneakers and the UltraBOOST has fallen out of favor with the collector’s who would have been excited a year ago. You know what though? This is a GoT drop and I could be dead wrong.
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