The art of hiding your secret stuff deep inside your sneakers is a well-known trick of the trade. With hummel’s latest collaboration with Christiania Sports Club – the club of arguably the world’s largest autonomous anarchist squat, Freetown Christiania in Copenhagen – lovers of the world’s most versatile and smokable herb now have a special spot for their special stash ready-made in their sneakers.
Christiania’s infamous love of homegrown herbs influenced the hummel x CSC sneaker’s materials: the 100% vegan sneaker features a canvas tongue and a rubber outsole, complimented by a hemp upper, while the red and yellow colorway mirrors the proud autonomous community’s colors. The sneaker’s indigo-gray camo in-sock nods to CSC’s third football jersey, while the three yellow dots on the laces are a direct reference to Christiania’s flag. Rounding off the design, hummel’s iconic bumblebee logo is stitched proudly to the heel tab.
The shoe is based on hummel’s existing HML hybrid kick that combines the sport label’s latest performance outsole tech, known as SPE, with a clean upper design taken from the German-Danish brand’s extensive archive.
hummel has been the official sportswear provider for CSC since 2012. The two joined together in a long-term partnership, bound by their shared and heartfelt values of respect for cultural diversity, alternative ways of living, and a profound wish to make the world a better place.
This isn’t simply wishful thinking of course: hummel, through its 'Change the World Through Sport' motto, is a proud yet low-key provider of sport equipment to varied and disparate causes around the world: from designing team kits for the Afghanistan national women’s football team – complete with hijab – to supplying amputees in Sierra Leone with the gear they need to play the beautiful game.
As for Christiania, the place has been a semi-autonomous and self-governing zone in an ex-military barracks in the center of the Danish capital since people first began living in the buildings in the early 1970s (partly in response to the lack of affordable housing in the city at the time). While in some respects synonymous with weed, Christiania is also seen as a place where alternative lifestyles are encouraged and nurtured.
The hummel x CSC sneaker is available only at the Save Christiania shop in Freetown Christiania, Copenhagen, and via HANON's brick-and-mortar and online stores.
hummel and everyone's favorite 'hipster' football club, FC St. Pauli, recently paired up once again for another Marathona runner which you can check out here.