ADIDAS BY STELLA MCCARTNEY
DENIZ AKKAYA
The Spring Summer 2021 adidas by Stella McCartney collection is an ode to the world and the environment through the lenses of the future generation. The collection told by the activists portrayed in its campaign, who celebrate the first collection inspired by streetsport: Futureplayground.
Futureplayground marks the first chapter; an expressive collection inspired by streetsport with modern silhouettes, enhanced by contrasting and expressive prints. The creative direction is handed over to the creators, Netti Hurley, Monika Mogi and Anna Pollack who have chosen a series of activists, including Lourdes Leon, to give life to the collection. For the first time, the creative direction is handed over to a group of talented female directors and activists seeking to shape and inspire the world.
Made for a generation that cares deeply about its environmental impact, the collection focuses on sustainability as part of the long-term goal of the collaboration between adidas and Stella McCartney to end plastic waste.
As the brand is well known because of its commitment to ethical values and its constant exploring of innovative ways to become more sustainable, from designing to store practices and product manufacturing, this comes as no surprise.
Futureplayground is inspired by the earth. The collection takes design cues from street sport and women’s skateboarding teams, featuring bold, contrasting and expressive prints, rendered through modern silhouettes that include oversized deconstructed jackets and sweatpants, paired with high-waisted knee-length shorts and crop sleeves long.
Starting from Japan, where Monika Mogi expresses her need to normalize strong and unique personalities through powerful and captivating images, choosing Yuri Hibon, passionate about organic and sustainable agriculture and the archer Ren Hayakawa, winner of the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics.
Yuri shares with the audience how she is able to use nature as a space to think and raise self-awareness, while Ren redirects the energy of the environment around her to guide self-confidence and boost her performance.
Arriving in the UK, where director Netti Hurley tries to share the stories of her generation in a sensitive and sincere way, choosing calm and Violet, a couple of artists and activists who share their joy of love and passion for equality through the art.
Georgia Moot also features, a proactive voice in the field of mental health and the BIPOC community, telling how movement helps her to maintain balance and well-being.
The New York City perspective is brought to life by the director, Anna Pollock, who explores youth culture and captures it through a multifaceted lens, choosing Lourdes Leon, an advocate of environmental and feminist causes, who also appeared in Stella McCartney’s FW20 adidas campaign , and Akili King, a youthful voice actively driving change focused on female inclusiveness and empowerment. United in the campaign, they use dance as a bold and raw expression of the power of individuality and community strength.
“Young people today are so full of creative ideas and have incredible energy, so I think it’s really important to give them the opportunity to share their work and vision. We can all learn a lot from this. The directors and cast from around the world who have brought this conscious campaign to life are incredibly diverse in both their backgrounds and beliefs. I like to see how each individual is working to protect the planet or their community in their own way and how each of them has captured the collection in contexts that celebrate their environment – as a reminder of why it is so important to fight to protect it. “ Stella said about the collection.
The striking collection sits halfway between high fashion and advanced technical performance and we can’t get enough of it!
