The signature shoe of several time world tennis champion, and still legendary George ‘Rod’ Laver, the adidas Rod Laver has been a mainstay for the brand, and now a central part of the Originals range since its 1970 launch. The key to its success? Utter simplicity. In line with court decorum and regulations of the era, the famous 3-Stripes were shorn for this shoe, and the purity of the Rod Laver set something of a standard for sneaker design – the move to pare down the corporate identity and let the silhouette do the talking is a landmark move too.

Beyond favourite colour combinations like the traditional white and green, the material mix of leather and mesh kept things breathable and lightweight without compromising looks. This bare bones approach gave the shoe an ageless quality. A follow-up, wider, chunkier in the sole and with added midsole and heel branding became another icon and a worldwide Summer standard, notably deified in NYC as the timeless hot weather choice.

Almost forty years after the original design’s introduction, it’s back in a tweaked form, retaining its iconic classicism for an ambitious adidas Originals Consortium project.  Nine global Consortium partners, each famed for their innovative approach to retail, were given the Rod Laver to rework with their choice of colours, fabrics and more for release in extremely limited numbers at Consortium stores throughout August and September 2009.

We present you the first drop of the project, consisting of collabortions with DQM, Undefeated, Limiteditions and VA.

Detailed images of the adidas Originals Consortium Rod Laver Series follow after the jump.

The third and final drop of the 3Way Consortium project from adidas Originals sees the series heading East for a work around between some of the most respected sneaker retailers and influencers of the region.

With the choice of working on the 5 models together in whatever manner they chose Acu, Crooked Tongues (London based but with strong ties to Thailand), D-Mop and VA decided to pair up on two shoes each and all collaborate together on the fifth. The 5 retailers worked on the Samba, Forum Mid, Nizza, Stan Smith and the Superstar, all together covering the most prominent sneakers in the adidas Originals catalogue. The sneakers will go on sale at adidas Consortium retailers on July 18th.

Take a detailed look at all five sneakers from the third adidas 3Way drop, including collaborations with ACU, Crooked Tongues, D-Mop and VA after the jump.

Thanks to the latest issue of Shoes Master, we can give you a small preview of the upcoming XLarge x Vans Sk8 Hi. It comes in black suede with a multicolor XLarge all-over pattern on the side panels. At this point we do not know when it will release, but we’ll keep you posted. Via VA.

After the jump you also get a preview of the VA ZX 9000, that is part of the adidas aZX Project. It comes in a nice grey/neon yellow colorway.

Here is the next limited edition series out of the Lakai Summer ‘08 collection – the Racing Series. In this series Lakai worked with some other brands out of skateboarding including Diamond Supply Co, Girl, VA, Matix, Krux, Ricta and others. The series is made up of the Biebel, Foster 4 and the Mariano 2. 
Check them out in detail after the jump.