adidas Consortium Sneaker Exchange: United Arrows & Sons x Slam Jam - Launching 7th October

25 April 2019

adidas Consortium partner Japan's United Arrows & Son's with Italy's Slam Jams for the next release in their Sneaker Exchange project.

Continuing their year-long series of collaborations between some of the world’s most innovative retailers, adidas Consortium Sneaker Exchange unveil the outcome of the partnership between beacon of Italian streetwear culture Slam Jam and Japanese concept shopping destination United Arrows & Sons.

The first drop of the exchange project saw Sarah Andelman’s Parisian concept store colette paired with LA sneaker stalwart UNDEFEATED on two contrasting models and each month since has seen the release of two co-designed sneakers by a pair of retailers from the 84-strong list of international retailers that range from END and Bodega to KITH and Naked.

An early conversation topic in the partnership between United Arrows & Sons and Slam Jam was construction, and in particular, the textiles used to make great footwear. Together, United Arrows & Sons and Slam Jam present two luxury leisure shoes: a Gazelle and a Campus, each created using materials with regional context. The execution is experimental – an exploration in how repurposing high-quality textiles can result in outstanding sneakers.

The Campus is the more opulent of the duo, with an all-white upper in a 100% organic cotton which references high-quality Japanese IKEUCHI ORGANIC towelling. The use of this textile gives a ruffled, distressed appearance with a forward thinking luxury appeal.

While materials and colours are subtle, branding on both models is eye-catching. Besides logo detailing on the tongue labels, “United Arrows & Sons and Slam Jam” appears on the white Campus’ outsole and laces, while “Gazelle” and “Gat-zelle” - the original Japanese name for the model – is printed on either side of its off-white counterpart.

Understated elegance at its finest, Japan and Italy come together to create something entirely new with this highly conceptual sneaker pack.

Be sure to check out END.'s contribution to the adidas Consortium's Sneaker Exchange project in partnership with Bodega.