Earlier this year adidas Originals kicked off a
global campaign with a star-studded TVC that challenged the notion of what it
means to be a superstar.
The push – one of the largest ever for the Originals
brand – celebrates the 45th anniversary of the Superstar, adidas Originals’
most iconic and one of its best-selling shoes. It features Rita Ora, David
Beckham, Pharrell Williams and Damian Lillard together in the ad and plays with
the idea of self-expression while challenging conventional definitions of
superstardom.
The campaign sees a number of further collaborations
with two of the artists who appear in the advertisement, Pharrell Williams and
Rita Ora. The Pharrell drops have seen unprecedented success in South Africa
and after the groundbreaking Supercolor release in April, Pharrell is back with
the FW15 release of Supershell.
As the creator and curator of this fresh new
concept, the Supershell Collection sees Pharrell hand-pick friends and
creatives from around the world to reinvent the shoe for the very first time.
The result is the Superstar shelltoe coming alive with these creatives’ bespoke
artwork, joined by six of Pharrell’s very own designs. Along with Pharrell’s,
the collection of NYC contemporary designer Todd James and Japanese artist Mr.,
will be available in South Africa.
“Supershell is all about evolving the Superstar shoe
into a canvas for creation. It’s the third part of our #OriginalSuperstar
campaign and it is aimed at giving those with creative courage the platform to
express themselves without being swayed by opinion” says Ricole Green,
spokesperson for adidas Originals in South Africa.
“We wanted to bring the global campaign to life
locally, so we went about looking for an opportunity to work with artists in
South Africa who personified the essence of the Superstar.”
The result is a powerful documentary style short
film titled ‘It’s Not About Us’ which follows the journey of The Sartists, a
Johannesburg-based creative collective, who aim to recreate and communicate
authentic and untold African stories through fashion and photography.
It’s an intimate portrait of three unique characters - Kabelo Kungwane, Wanda Lephoto and Xzavier Zulu – and their shared passion for creativity which is brought to life through the photographic lense of Andile Buka. The film reveals their motivations, fears and dreams as they work tirelessly towards their first ‘big break’ – a collaboration with adidas Originals for the launch of Supershell in South Africa.
“The Sartists have been on our radar ever since they
showcased their curated vintage suits and leather brogues with the iconic three
stripes at one of the very first STR CRD’s in Johannesburg. Their passion for
adidas, the product and the brand’s heritage is so inspiring and we’ve been
waiting for the right opportunity to work with them. We believe that The
Sartists are the perfect translation of the Supershell’s meaning on a local
level – giving credit to artists that have developed their personal style in an
effort to create for themselves without the need for external validation. They
share a consistent trait with the creatives selected for the global Supershell
campaign having developed their personal style with a commitment of creating
for themselves – a commitment to creating for an audience of one” explains
Green.
Drawing
from local stories for inspiration
With The Sartists’ personal creative work spaces,
the streets of Jozi and their community hangouts as the backdrop, the film
captures how Kabelo, Wanda and Xzavier came to meet, where they find their
inspiration and how they express their creativity without restriction.
“This film isn’t about us,” says Xzavier. “It’s about the people who will be inspired
by this. People that are going to take away from it that ‘this is possible’,
even for them. It tells a collective
story – of the aspirations of our youth, of young creatives in South Africa
finding their true voice and not surrendering their talent to conform.”
Wanda adds: “We’ve always been inspired by our
environment and we saw it as a way of giving back – an opportunity to somehow
pay creativity forward while celebrating our stories of heritage and culture.
adidas Originals is for individuals whose contribution sets them apart and we
wanted to do something that is going to matter to the people who see it.”
The Sartists took their inspiration for their
Supershell collaboration from their influences during the kwaito era when
artists like Alaska and Trompies, who played a significant role in putting the
spotlight on the Pantsula sub-culture in the 1990s, were some of their favourite
artists.
“Pantsula is an expression of cultural roots for
many South Africans – from fashion, to music and dance. We wanted to celebrate
it as a strong story of our country’s style heritage. We took that pantsula
aesthetic and added them to deconstructed adidas garments to pay tribute to our
culture. The collaboration was a natural fit for us. It represents our approach
as creatives – we’ve been adidas fans since we were kids and we love the rich
heritage it has,” explains Kabelo.
Their personal style shines through in the campaign
with classic adidas Originals pieces like the Superstar track top and track
pants have been transformed into customised pieces with Supershell being the
undeniable inspiration. The custom garments include dungarees, one pieces,
jumpsuits and bucket hats while some of the pieces also reflect iconic
barbershop style paintings on the backs of their outfits.
In addition to the short film, the collaboration
further includes a look book with The Sartists’ final custom creations photographed
by Andile Buka, as well as an installation at AREA3 featuring the three
artists. The installation was conceptualized by ANDPEOPLE, the activations
agency behind the film.
The collaboration between adidas Originals and The
Sartists was recently launched and celebrated at an exclusive event at AREA3
located in Braamfontein, a suburb regarded as the epicenter of South Africa’s
growing street style culture.
Visit www.adidas.com/originalsuperstar for more
information. Follow adidas South Africa on Twitter (@adidasZA) and Instagram
(adidasZA) or join a conversation with The Sartists by using #superstar
#supershell and #adidasOriginals.
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