Sporty & Rich and adidas Run the Archives
There's a curious alchemy in the world of fashion, where a brand built on the idealized aesthetics of a specific past manages to continually sell its vision to the immediate present. Sporty & Rich, the label helmed by Emily Oberg, is less a clothing company and more a successful exercise in aspirational nostalgia, bottling the quiet luxury of leisure and vintage sportswear. Their latest collaboration with adidas Originals is not a re-tread of summer tennis courts; it’s a calculated pivot to the running track, albeit filtered through Oberg’s unmistakable, highly intentional lens.
The focus of this new, fully fledged collaborative capsule centers on the adidas Adistar Control 5, a silhouette unearthed from the brand's running archives, originally debuting in 2008. This is a deliberate choice. It skips the chunky '90s trainer trend for something leaner, faster, and slightly more obscure. Oberg has reimagined the sneaker with her signature intentionality: color-blocked in sleek, almost muted shades, accented by striking metallic overlays, and peppered with co-branded hits on the sockliners, tongues, and lace-tips. The colorways—one pairing neutral grey with teal and metallic accents, the other an all-white base with black and teal striping—are a masterclass in subtlety. They whisper of performance heritage rather than shouting about speed, perfectly aligning with the label's ethos of effortless cool.
On the apparel side, the collection leans into an earthy green palette, featuring co-branded staples like a collegiate-inspired crewneck and a vintage windbreaker. It’s functional gear designed for a world where wellness is as much a status symbol as a state of being. The line sells the idea that the run itself is a form of luxury, a moment of intentionality away from the digital grind.
This partnership is a prime example of the ongoing cultural conversation between high-end streetwear and sportswear heritage. Sporty & Rich doesn't sell athletic excellence; it sells the aesthetic of health, the idea of the runner who has the time and resources to look effortlessly put-together, even in motion. By diving into the running archives, Oberg is connecting her brand to the serious history of adidas performance, but only to package it for the current consumer who values vintage scarcity and quiet refinement above all else. The range pre-launches on October 1 via Sporty & Rich before an official drop on October 5 via adidas.
