Over the past several years Yara Shahidi — the American actress, Harvard student, executive producer, and change agent — has established herself as one of the leading voices of a new generation of multidisciplinary creative trailblazers. Splitting her time between her studies, advocating for social causes that affect our global community and starring as the lead actress and an executive producer of the hit show Grown-ish, Yara is a driving force in culture today. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, though only 21 years old, she has continually used her voice as a force for good and actively empowered dialogues around inclusion.

This season, adidas Originals and Yara have come together to present a two-part collaborative footwear and apparel collection that champions the spirit of ReCreation through unique takes on the creative polymath’s Iranian and African American heritage. Driven by a shared recognition of the way in which young people throughout the world are reimagining their identities, cultures and heritages in new ways — while making and taking up space in the process — the collection’s ethos of ReCreation seeks to make a powerful and impactfulcultural statement.

I’M INCREDIBLY EXCITED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH ADIDAS ORIGINALS AS A CREATOR, AS I HAVE ALWAYS VIEWED CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR AS INCREDIBLE TOOLS WITH WHICH WE NAVIGATE THE WORLD IN OUR OWN PARTICULAR WAY, SO TO BE ABLE TO DESIGN MY OWN COLLECTIONS WITH THE BRAND HAS BEEN TRULY SPECIAL.

THIS PARTICULAR COLLECTION IS NOT ONLY AN EXPLORATION OF WHO I AM — BRINGING TOGETHER DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF MY OWN HERITAGE — BUT ALSO AN ODE TO A NEW GENERATION OF CHANGE MAKERS WHO ARE CONTINUALLY REIMAGINING THEIR OWN IDENTITIES, CARVING OUT SPACE, AND REFUSING TO BE SILENCED IN THE PROCESS.

Yara Shahidi

The first part of the collaboration sees Yara bring elevated storytelling to the Superstar silhouette, infusing the iconic sneaker with a number of unexpected details. Carefully crafted with quality in mind, the Yara Shahidi Superstar features a beige worn leather upper, with brown and yellow suede stripes and heel panels, metal lace jewels and a scalloped tongue. A beautiful message on the insole of the shoe, the understated yet expressive look is then capped off with yar”, a derivation of Yara’s name meaning ‘friend’, embossed in gold foil on the upper.

The collection also features two, distinctive, 1960s inspired takes on the classic adidas tracksuit. First up, the striking Satin Track Top and Satin Track Pant are updated with relaxed cuts on the arms and legs, as well as a cropped fit in the body, and are elevated with Iranian-inspired patterns. The Satin tracksuit also explores the importance of multi-use items, by having hidden drawstrings that allow you to convert the tracksuit to another style. Meanwhile, the Varsity Track Top and Varsity Track Pant are given mustard color updates, symbolic of the mustard seed, and finished off with the printed addition of the collaboration’s Sun logo.

Accompanying the collection is a bold campaign that brings together a crew of cultural leaders, including multi-hyphenate creator Duckwrth, as well as models Andrea Thomas and Dora Owusu, alongside Yara herself. Inspired by a shared commitment to carving out space in the contemporary landscape, each member of the forward-thinking cast of ReCreationists honors their heritage while simultaneously championing new identities.

Infused with personal heritage, the adidas Originals by Yara Shahidi collaborative collection launches exclusively in North America on May 13th through adidas.com, CONFIRMED, and select retailers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>