adidas Originals and Wales Bonner return once again to present their latest collaborative endeavor. Forming an integral part of the designer’s Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, entitled “Black Sunlight”, the apparel, footwear, and accessories on offer follow on from the themes developed in Spring/Summer 2021 with “Essence” and Autumn/Winter 2020 with “Lovers Rock”.
Concluding the trilogy of collections, Black Sunlight illuminates a world of Caribbean Thought and Black British intellectualism, reflecting on the scholars, poets and artists from the Caribbean, India, and West Africa whose work and writings advanced postcolonial discourse in the UK and across the globe.
Where the previous two collections saw Wales Bonner reimagine the aesthetics and stylistic tendencies of the 70s, for Autumn/Winter 2021 the designer turns her attention to the diasporic radical thinkers of the 80s. Here, the apparel and accessories offering features iconic adidas pieces refreshed through Wales Bonner’s inimitable lens – implementing popular 80s inspired cut lines and silhouettes on items including t-shirts, pants, trackpants, a tracksuit, an anorak, and a sunhat. Inspired by scholarly iconography, select pieces are then elevated with collegiate graphics, representing academic and spiritual growth.
At once an homage to the 80s and an elevated take on archival codes, the collection also features signature material and color updates to the adidas Japan silhouette. Bringing the collection’s thematic inspiration to life, the WB Japan sneaker is available in four quintessential colorways: Dark Marine/Easy Yellow/Cream White, Hazy Yellow/Brown/Dark Brown, Cream White/Easy Yellow/Dark Brown, and Dark Brown/Collegiate Burgundy/Easy Yellow. The first two colorways boast uppers composed of nylon and matched with plush leather stripes. The third colorway comprises a leather upper, matched with a suede toe cap and heel tab, as well as a crocheted tongue with moccasin border stitching. Meanwhile, the final colorway features a predominantly suede upper paired with contrasting leather details. Each pair of the carefully considered sneakers is then updated with embossed gold foil Wales Bonner branding on the lateral and comes replete with supplementary crochet laces.
Shot by Tyler Mitchell, the launch of the collection is accompanied by an evocative photographic campaign which intimately captures the inherent nostalgia of a balmy summer’s afternoon and reflects a moment suspended in time. Moving forward from the institutional academic setting that brought the previous collection to life, this season adidas Originals and Wales Bonner step outdoors into an idyllic space of leisure as a cast of models relax together in a field interacting with artistically elevated footballs, bikes, and goalposts – all wrapped in vivid fabrics and ribbons. Building on themes of identity and representation that are encapsulated in both Wales Bonner and Tyler Mitchell’s work, the images seek to convey emotive feelings of freedom, intimacy, and brotherhood drawn out through unfettered authenticity and connectedness.
The adidas Originals by Wales Bonner Autumn/Winter 2021 collaborative apparel and accessories is available globally on November 16th at adidas.com, on Confirmed, and through select retailers. Footwear will launch beginning of 2022 (on Confirmed and through selected retailers).
