adidas Originals continues their ongoing collaboration with Brain Dead and Disney, this time joining all three forces to launch a collection inspired by vintage football culture.
The collection centers on a street-ready version of the first ever adidas Predator boot from ’94. Swapping out boots for a heavy rubber outsole, the adidas Predator x Brain Dead by Disney brings the instantly recognizable molded rubber upper into the present day. Two removable foldover flap tongues give the wearer the choice between faux croc leather and patent leather. The latter boasts perforations that can be pinned with the six provided vintage-inspired pins featuring Disney characters. The hybrid shoe is finished with Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Brain Dead key chains.
The apparel and accessories selection, meanwhile, nods back to the ’90s through a trio of co-branded kits – with matching jerseys, shorts, and socks in three colourways: yellow with green and black stripes, white with green and red stripes, and blue with white and red stripes. All three feature the Disney and Brain Dead logos. Each jersey includes flock printed Disney characters on the sleeve, a flock printed Disney logo on the chest, a Brain Dead logo in the neckline, and a Mickey Mouse all over print. The shorts carry the same print, while the socks feature embroidered Disney characters. The collection is completed with a Disney Donald Duck graphic T-shirt, a pair of crinkled nylon shorts, a track top with Disney character patches, and a graphic printed scarf.
Arriving in limited quantities on June 29th, the adidas Originals x Brain Dead by Disney collection is available via adidas.co.za and adidas Sandton City with prices starting from R 499 – R 3999.
Brain Dead is a creative studio with deep ties to the fringe. It is a global collective of artists, designers, musicians, filmmakers, and general creatives. Brain Dead is not one person, nor is it one idea. It sits in the space between people, culture, entertainment and product.
The initial ideas for Brain Dead were conceived in 2015 where CEO and Creative Director, Kyle Ng, quickly recognized a hole in the contemporary apparel market for presenting the culture he cared for in a purposeful way. The “culture” of streetwear of the day had become too masculine, contemporary luxury mens and womenswear too plagiaristic; while the leading successful brands in the marketplace had turned to pumping out mundane fast fashion that lacked any meaningful purpose. To create an impactful brand that truly represented Kyle’s interests meant creating apparel that was secondary to the culture that informed it.
In most instances that meant building the surrounding culture first; from the campaigns surrounding the product, events coordinated for launches, and graphical references chosen, everything needed to speak to the intersection of a hodgepodge of sub-culture in art, music, literature, sport, and cinema that became foundationally “Brain Dead”.
Brain Dead is at its best an occupation of a space one step inside the fringe of subculture; a willingness to share the outsiders influence with a broader audience and stand proudly for it.
Inspired by the rich sporting heritage of adidas – one of the world’s leading sports brands and a global designer and developer of athletic footwear and apparel – adidas Originals is a lifestyle brand founded in 2001. With the adidas archive at its foundation, adidas Originals continues to evolve the brand’s legacy through its commitment to product innovation and its ability to filter the creativity and courage found on the courts and sporting arenas through the lens of contemporary youth culture. Marked by the iconic Trefoil logo that was first used in 1972 and championed by those that continue to shape and define creative culture, adidas Originals continues to lead the way as the pioneering sportswear brand for the street
