For seven decades adidas has collaborated with some of the biggest talents in music, sport, and fashion. Previous creative pairings include Pharrell, Stormzy, and Alexander Wang – that’s without even mentioning its newest (and set to be biggest ever) project with Beyoncé.
The sportswear brand is not just about celebrating huge names though: it also regularly champions newer up-and-coming creatives, too. Look no further than its ‘MakerLab’ project – which has seen the label collaborate with emerging designers including Priya Ahluwalia, Paolina Russo, and Nicholas Daley – for evidence of this.
To help bring both new and established names under one roof, the label launched its Sports Club project to coincide with legendary US festival Coachella. While looking to the future, the event paid homage to founder Adi Dassler’s original Sport Hotel – which was founded in Munich in the 60s. “It all starts with the DNA of the brand, so for the Sports Club this meant bringing together all forms of creatives, from athletes to entertainers,” explains Jon Wexler, VP Entertainment and Influencer Marketing Global for the label.
Hosted at the Zenyara estate in Palm Springs, the gigantic Sports Club space was an opportunity for names both big and small not only to enjoy the amenities – basketball, tennis, and football courts, as well as a pool complete with a jetski – but also to mingle and potentially foster future relationships and partnerships. “Walking through the venue is like the internet in real life, you have people from sports, music, fashion, and art all under one roof and I’m confident that the conversations that will happen here will foster newness and innovation,” Wexler continues.
Attendees included the likes of Pusha-T (who performed on the basketball court), Diplo, photographer Renell Medrano, DJ and consultant Kerwin Frost, and a whole host of NBA players and athletes. “Growing up, I was always a big fan of adidas, so being here is obviously pretty cool,” Frost tells us. “Anything I tell them I want to do, they’re always super helpful and they get it straight away – it’s like a family relationship working with adidas.”
While you wait to find out what Beyoncé’s partnership with the brand holds, keep an eye out for future projects birthed thanks to the adidas Sports Club.