adidas

adidas Originals and the groundbreaking Chinese designer, Dingyun Zhang, have come together to launch their inaugural collaborative silhouette: a decidedly innovative take on the signature Samba sneaker. 

Transcending sport while paying homage to the Samba’s heritage across football and skateboarding culture, the sneaker was realized through extensive research, with the designer visiting the adidas archives in both Beijing and Herzogenaurach to uncover the source material needed to reimagine the iconic look.

“As a designer I’m dedicated to creating newness, from scratch. Picking materials, sifting through past versions of the Samba, spending time measuring out the exact placement of each design feature: this shoe is all about demonstrating that highly conceptual ideas can be stretched into an all-new physical silhouette,” says Zhang. “Bypassing obstacles; the more you challenge yourself, the more you think outside the box and push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

While fluidity has always been at the center of the Chinese designer’s work, the thematic pulse continues through his take on the Samba. The silhouette’s upper is reimagined in patent leather with undulations that ripple like waves, juxtaposed against a suede toe box and a matte embossed gum rubber sole. 

Straddling cultural influences, the silhouette takes inspiration from the 2006 adidas Predator Absolute cleat, while the puffy low cut look is inspired by 2000s skate references with an exaggerated cushioned heel and a low cut look reminiscent of the era when street skaters would take a box cutter to their brand new shoes and convert them into low tops.

Crafted with the utmost attention to detail, the sneaker also features breathable holes along the shoe’s stripes placed at custom distances, a slightly shorter tongue, and tonal branding. Constructed in a monochromatic finish, the all black look offers a nod to the designer’s own school years, when he was obliged to black-out his Sambas, in order to conform with uniform dress codes.  

Helping to bring the story of the Dinyung Zhang Samba to life, the launch of the silhouette is accompanied by a dynamic set of films which use technology to explore transformations in texture and concept.

Water can crash, or it can flow. A story of craftsmanship, transformed into wearable art, the adidas Originals by Dingyun Zhang Samba arrives on 10th May via select retailers and CONFIRMED. Sign ups for purchases on CONFIRMED open on May 4th at 10:00 CET.

About Dingyun Zhang

At his core, Dingyun Zhang creates objects inspired by fluidity. Having graduated from London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins university in 2020, the Chinese designer has continued to advance a distinct aesthetic and functional vision, placing simplicity and practicality at the heart of his work, 

In each piece, the designer turns elevated conceptual thinking into multi-functional garments and accessories, developed to be as resilient as the people and environments that inspire them: from the ethereal cocoons of his signature outerwear, to the intimate second skin of everyday jerseys.

Alongside his own creations, Dingyun Zhang has collaborated with some of the world’s most iconic fashion and sportswear labels including adidas, Moncler, and Marni.