adidas Originals | Tubular | The Design Process with Nic Galway

 Words & Interview by Ian Stonebrook of Nice Kicks

You don’t have to be a SoHo staple or runway resident to know that designer fashion is shifting the trajectory of modern sportswear and thus sneakers. While the changing trend is definitely a representation of the push-pull relationship between fashion house heads dressing down and street wear sharpening, adidas has long found itself in the middle of the this movement, teaming up with Yohji Yamamoto and countless other creatives to best represent the tension between style and sport.

At the top of that tension is Nic Galway. The recently appointed VP of Global Design at adidas has worked with the likes of Y-3 and Rick Owens on aspirational product that pushes both boundaries and budgets, more often appearing at Fashion Week and in blog pages than on feet in the street. This past fall, the gap between high fashion dreams and everyday wear continued to close as Nic and the Three Stripes introduced the adidas Tubular: a modern, minimal and innovative design that captures the creativity of the brand’s rich sports DNA while still striving with no obvious need for nostalgia. 

Coming off the heels of the Y-3 Qasa Shell, the Tubular proves sleek and accessible, coming in at a price of $110 with much wider distribution than its pricey, label-laden predecessors. We spoke with Nic to hear about how the Tubular came about, what it’s like to work with Rick Owens and what’s next for adidas Originals.

 

Read the full interview HERE