There’s only one way to describe Kerwin Frost’s ongoing partnership with adidas: fun! The series of collaborations has given us wild takes of some of adidas’ most iconic sneakers.
To date, we’ve been blessed with the oversized, Superstar Superstuffed, as well as wacky pairs of Forum Highs and Lows.
Frost comes as he pleases, wearing whatever the hell he feels like. The multi-hyphenate’s adidas projects are welcome additions to the sometimes overly-serious and over-designed world of sneaker collaborations. As Frost explained to us, he's glad that attitude comes through in his latest supersized adidas collaboration, modeled by none other than Chief Keef and launching on adidas' site and CONFIRMED app on November 17.
How was it working with adidas?
It was so much fun creating this collection with adidas. They gave me, pretty much, ultimate creative freedom and a blank canvas to paint my ideas. There's so much history with adidas taking chances on underdogs.
Immediately, I was found with so many reference points that validated the direction I wanted to take my products in and it’s going to continue to evolve with each season. What you’re seeing now was the simplest from a development perspective: it’s going to get way crazier as far as silhouettes go.
But the oversized tee was fun because it’s like a big & tall tee from the 90s. And I was really excited to push adidas to put stripes on denim.
As someone with, dare I say, several iconic outfits under his belt, how'd you like to see these pieces styled?
For the Tall Tees, I really like baggy pants or baggy shorts for the full effect. Those were made to play with proportions.
But most of all, all the apparel should be styled however the person would like to style it! They are all personalized pieces that could go with anything. At first glance, it looks kind of hectic and crazy but I think it’s more universal than you might imagine. Different energies gravitate towards different characters- it’s fun to see which one is each person's favorite.
What's your process like for designing shoes? Clearly, you're not just trying to make normal sneakers in different colorways, you wanna do something wholly distinct,
Yeah, I honestly came in expecting to just get to do a cool way to play but was blessed to be able to take each footwear style to the next level, constructionally. With each shoe, I wanted to come up with a specific thread or message to communicate. I wanted each pair to have their own personality and stand out on their own while communicating the same language.
How has adidas responded to your ideas? Did a design ever go too far?
adidas trusted my ideas enough to execute them!
It’s really fun working with them and pushing them to think outside of the "influencer collaboration blueprint." There are so many collaborations — every day, something hits the news cycle — but I think ours bleeds through as very true to the non-corporate partner.
It’s hard to stay true in the industry when you have to plug into a massive global multi-billion dollar corporation. But I am happy to say that I stuck to my gut pretty much every step of the way and adidas was a great partner who really listened and trusted my gut.
Obviously, I fold and make sacrifices when necessary — it would be weird if I just came in and got my way all the time. Like, I respect their company structure, culture, morals, and processes. I don’t know everything and have learned so much from them.
But none of those folds or sacrifices ever came with me really questioning my integrity. I don’t think a lot of other creatives working with major companies can say the same, unfortunately. And I don’t blame them, it’s easy to get lost in the fray of it all.
What would you say to people uneasy about leaving their stylistic comfort zone?
My advice is that everyone should try and see what they like and what suits them. And to not be so nervous. And not just look at what celebrities are doing. And really have fun with dressing every day.
With the Humanchives — I mean, they have a face on them — I wanted people to feel as if they had a companion with them taking the chances right by their side.
