adidas unveils CITY PACK, a creative reinvention of the popular UltraBOOST DNA, in collaboration with six local creatives from across Southeast Asia. Six bold UltraBOOST DNA designs will be launched, with each taking inspiration from the respective local identities of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The CITY PACK will be available on adidas.com.ph and at selected retail stores from 11 November 2021 for PHP 10,000.
Southeast Asia is the heart of a new world order. Rich in traditions, diverse in culture, a myriad of beautiful language and vernaculars, yet, united in hope for a greater, better future. This is the land where some of the world’s best talents are unearthed – in sport, the arts, fashion and music. CITY PACK celebrates just that; the coming-together of different cultures and people of Southeast Asia, presenting the versatility and richness of the cultures, communities and identities in the region.
JD Cortez, adidas Philippines Brand Communications & Sports Marketing Manager said, “The ULTRABOOST (UB) has always been a first and the pioneer in winning the hearts of consumers all around the world, changing the way they see and feel running. With CITY PACK, we’re bringing back the UltraBOOST DNA edition this time for a different reason – we want to celebrate the diverse identities and cultures in the region by creating meaningful designs the represent those very identities, in a well-loved silhouette that consumers journey in. More importantly, we want to empower our local creatives from across Southeast Asia by providing them a global platform to be seen, to be heard, and to express how they see the world differently in their designs.”
Six Designs, Six Countries, One Pack
Joining hands with local creatives Yeri Afriyani from Indonesia, Jaemy Choong from Malaysia, Greg Guleserian (Egg Fiasco) from the Philippines, Eman Raharno Jeman (Clogtwo) from Singapore, Tanit Likitthamarak from Thailand and Le Thanh Tung (Crazy Monkey) from Vietnam, CITY PACK was created to reimagine the popular UltraBOOST DNA silhouette with an interpretation of their worlds. Hyper-local signatures are injected with unique design and meaning in this brand-new collection.
INDONESIA
Inspired by the diversity and colour in daily life in Indonesia, Yeri Afriyani, a self-trained fashion designer and founder of fashion brand Calla The Label, created a colourful pattern consisting of varying shapes, each representing the various personalities one would meet on the streets, with the different colours reflecting elements of the country.
“As a local artist, to have the opportunity to collaborate with a brand as big as adidas is such an exciting experience. I see diversity and colour everywhere in Indonesia. The blue in my design is derived from the oceans that surround us, while the green is inspired by the tropical rainforests that we are home to. The orange tinge reflects the colour of the sand in our beaches.”- Yeri Afriyani
MALAYSIA
Wayang Kulit, otherwise known as shadow puppetry, has been a significant part of Malaysia’s cultural identity and heritage. Paying homage to this traditional art form, Jaemy Choong, a graphic design artist from Malaysia fused elements of Wayang Kulit with a modern colour palette, in a “old-meets-new” approach.
“Working with adidas has definitely been a privilege as they are always pushing my creative boundaries. I enjoy stories on quirky characters, ancient myths, and innovative execution – Wayang Kulit embodies all these things, and being a pop-culture fan, I weaved in two shadow puppet characters with hand gestures that symbolises peace and love.”- Jaemy Choong
PHILIPPINES
Channeling childhood memories growing up in the Philippines and connecting his past with present, Greg Guleserian – also known as Egg Fiasco – a contemporary artist, built his design concept around video games, as seen in the unique sock-liner using design language mimicking that of video games. Also inspired by virtual items, such as virtual ‘potions’ and ‘elixirs’ that players would typically use to regenerate their in-game health, Egg included pops of orange and gold against the olive heel and navy upper, to represent this.
“The designs we worked on treated the shoe like a blank canvas, where we could apply elements of my work: jumbled patterns, textures, and bright colour pops. We wanted to do this while keeping adidas’ design language and the wearability of the final product in mind, aiming to make a design that would work on pretty much anyone.”- Egg Fiasco
SINGAPORE
Drawing inspiration from Singapore’s futuristic landscape and the efficient, systemic ways of working – an inherent part of Singapore’s progressive identity – Eman Raharno Jeman (Clogtwo), a graffiti practitioner and visual engineer applied an embroidered icon of a processor on the upper and a mechanised version of Singapore’s iconic Merlion scales at the heel.
“Instead of using heritage and tradition, I drew relation to mechanical components, wires, and gears to symbolise the people that run this ever-changing, ever-progressing machine island. A representation of my country, the processor is the smallest yet most powerful component in the computer. This is what I perceive Singapore to be: a state of the art, well-oiled and always-in-motion nation.” – Clogtwo
THAILAND
Celebrating the traditional and charming Thai wicker handicraft that is well-known and well-loved in Thailand, Tanit Likitthamarak, a graphic designer, applied this intricate and sophisticated wickerwork pattern in black and white throughout the midsole and laces.
“Working with adidas is something I have always dreamed of. I am proud to represent my country and those who love creating all types of art. Thai wickerwork is widely used in many local crafts. Therefore, Thai people are familiar with this pattern and can easily recognise as the Thai craft. I have used this pattern to create simple graphics and added more detail and colour to reflect the vibrant Thai lifestyle.”
VIETNAM
Using influences from Vietnamese folk culture, Dong Ho paintings that bring three centuries of history and Bat Trang Ceramics Village, Le Thanh Tung, Crazy Monkey, a visual artist from Vietnam merged unique design language and icons to bring a fresh and modern look to the UltraBOOST DNA.
“This is my chance, as a Vietnamese artist, to put my knowledge into practice with a fashion-culture icon like adidas to produce inspiring and unexpected products. I use pastel pink and green colors typically used in the Dong Ho folk painting line of Vietnam, along with winding details from Vietnam’s national flower, the lotus, and finally, iridescent clouds from traditional arts and craft.”- Crazy Monkey
Powering off with a BOOST
As part of the CITY PACK launch, adidas has also teamed up with Singapore-based illustrator, Muneera Malek (@moon_malek) and local creative house Studio 155, to develop a series of visuals. Capturing the essence and elements of the respective countries’ identities that each footwear design was inspired by, including each country’s national flower, these riveting key visuals celebrate the homeland where these local creatives hail from.
Each UltraBOOST DNA CITY PACK design will retail for PHP 10,000 from 11 November 2021 at adidas.com.ph and select adidas stores.
Please find high-res images for download here: https://bit.ly/UBDNACityPack.
Follow the conversation on Instagram and Facebook using @adidasph @adidasrunning and #UltraBOOST DNA.
