The story of adidas is one of innovation , epic moments , and the care for the athletic shoes worn by stars like Messi, Run-DMC, and Madonna . This book, a mecca for sneakerheads, presents the history of adidas through nearly 200 pairs of shoes , from one-off originals and vintage models to designer pieces.
The visual history of Adidas
It all began in his mother's laundry room in the quiet German town of Herzogenaurach over 100 years ago. There, Adolf Dassler, known to everyone as "Adi," and his brother Rudolf made their first pair of sneakers. Through hundreds of innovative designs, epic moments, and countless star collaborations, this book presents a visual history of adidas sneakers across nearly 200 models .
To develop and improve the adaptation of his products to the specific needs of athletes, Dassler asked them to return their worn-out shoes to him when they no longer needed them, footwear that ended up accumulating in his attic (even today, many athletes return their shoes to adidas, often as a thank you after winning a title or breaking a world record). This collection now constitutes the adidas Historical Archive, one of the largest, if not the largest, archives of any sporting goods manufacturer in the world, which photographers Christian Habermeier and Sebastian Jäger have been visually documenting in great detail for years .
Using the most sophisticated reproduction techniques, these images reveal details as subtle as stains, rips, fragments of patching tape, grass stains, and faded autographs. It's all here, captured in extremely high resolution and unretouched to bring to light the personal stories of each wearer. We can see the sneakers worn by the West German national football team in their "miraculous" 1954 World Cup victory and those worn by Kathrine Switzer when she ran the Boston Marathon in 1967, before women were officially allowed to compete; custom-made models for major stars from Madonna to Lionel Messi; collaborations with artists such as Pharrell Williams, Raf Simons, Stella McCartney, and Yohji Yamamoto ; as well as the brand's pioneering techniques and materials.
About the photographers and authors
Christian Habermeier has been working as a photographer and designer since 1989. He studied Communication Design and taught Photography and Digital Illustration from 2000 to 2006. He has completed projects in Cuba, Kenya, Nepal, India, Switzerland, and Hong Kong, among others. In 2000, he founded Studio Waldeck Photographers, achieving his dream of creating a carbon-neutral studio.
Sebastian Jäger studied design at the Georg-Simon-Ohm University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg, where he met former professor Christian Habermeier in 2005. His studio, waldeck photographerss, serves clients in the industrial and cultural sectors. Since 2011, they have been visualizing adidas' historical archives.
Book details:
- Publisher: TASCHEN
- Edition: Multilingual (Spanish, English, Italian)
- Hardcover: 512 pages
- Dimensions: 15.6 x 21.7 cm
- Weight: 1.14 kg
- ISBN: 978-3-8365-9108-9
