At the Adidas Archive
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
On January 4th 2026 we had the immense privilege to be invited into the Adidas Archive in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
How did this all start? Well, let us take you back to May 2024, when we made this post about a pair of Adidas sneakers we'd never seen before:
They had the same sole as the original Y3 mould that later became part of Adidas's mainline (left, a pair of Mei), but featured an extended tongue and side lacing seen usually on a pair of football sneakers (right, a pair of Predators).
What on earth were these? We even found a few pairs in different uppers (plastic, suede, leather):
Then we were contacted directly by Adidas - they had never seen this model either, and could we please send them to Adidas GQ in Germany so they could be placed in the Archive. Of course we said yes! It was a while until we heard from Adidas again, but in the following year we spotted this collab with the brand Miaou that looked very familiar.
It was the very same model! We finally got in contact with Sandra, the manager of Adidas's Archive, who let us know the model was called the "Mei Elite" and the pair we had sent back in 2024 had provided the basis for the collab. We were so stoked! In a weird stroke of misfortune, that same pair had actually gone missing and Adidas were looking for a second pair to keep permanently in the archive. We located another for them, and Sandra invited us to come and see it and the rest of the Archive while we were visiting Germany in February 2026:
So what else did we see at the Adidas archive? Sandra knew that apart from strange models with interesting backstories, we were also big fans of the original Stella McCartney collab from 2005 to around 2011. She pulled out the very first collab shoe - a pair of Rasant (then called the Monza):
Which has recently been re-released in a few new colourways for the current Stella McCartney collection!
We also saw some great Y3 pieces from the early 2000s, including the original Mei model (in red/printed flowers):
And of course, Adidas's amazing football history. We saw everything from world cup scoring footballs, to jerseys, to the very first pair of football boots.
We also love a good bag, and the Adidas archive had plenty of those:
It was a truly incredible experience to see so much of the history of a brand we truly love, and to have a curated selection brought out just for us. From posting about a sneaker we found randomly and hoping somebody had info on it, to sending it all the way to Germany to live in the Adidas Archive - to then being able to visit the archive in person! - it's been a wild ride, and we're so thankful to Sandra and her team for inviting us into this special place.
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