adidas Communitas Presents Consortium x Footpatrol ZX Torsion

Since it first came into being, adidas Consortium has been committed to bringing together those partners, retailers and collectives who exemplify a unique, fearless approach to collaboration. No matter how distinctively the individual voices of the Consortium family ring out, no member exists within a vacuum. Each one is the product of an often-under-sung local community that informs and inspires each new creation, either directly or indirectly.

With Communitas, adidas Consortium is bringing those special communities to the fore. Over the course of the year, four new releases are launched that ‘lift up’ the communities from which they came. On one level, Communitas is centered around a collaborative design process - but it also provides a platform for highlighting local causes on an international scale; for promoting dialogue on the preservation of local cultures; for championing the individuals that combine to make our communities great. 

This year has seen numerous adidas Consortium releases paying tribute to the ZX running series and its unique Torsion System technology, which debuted exactly thirty years ago. It’s a technology that has since become a mainstay in the adidas stable, appearing across numerous performance and lifestyle shoes over the subsequent decades. By using a TPU arch to bridge the heel and forefoot, Torsion allows the front and rear of the foot to operate and adapt to surfaces independently.

The latest Consortium partner to bring its distinctive sensibility to this celebratory series of releases is London’s Footpatrol: a go-to destination for the most coveted footwear in the capital city since 2002.  The store quickly became a hub of knowledge, creativity and community within the sneaker world – something reflected in their offering of new and classic styles, limited editions, Japanese exclusives and rare deadstock.  For their latest collaboration with adidas, the Footpatrol team brought a distinctly London vibe to the ZX Torsion: a shoe that combines the Torsion System with the latest BOOST cushioning for an undoubtedly contemporary look and feel, while still retaining the qualities that made the ZX range so special in the first place. 

With the shoe’s release coinciding with the Notting Hill Carnival, Footpatrol felt like it was an opportune moment to channel some of that carnival spirit into the shoe through the use of ‘boxfresh’ shades of white and popping bursts of neon yellow that appear on the shoe itself. With over two million revellers taking to the streets of West London every August Bank Holiday, Notting Hill Carnival is a true London institution, and one that holds a special place in the hearts of the Footpatrol team: a time and place where the very best styles, moves and music – three things that have long influenced sneaker culture - come together under one joyous banner.

For the release of the Footpatrol ZX Torsion, adidas and Footpatrol created a three-part documentary that takes an in-depth look at one of Notting Hill Carnival’s most enduring and well-loved acts, the Ebony Steel Band. Founded in 1969, the Caribbean and British group have been bringing the vibrant sounds of steelpan drumming to Europe and beyond for generations. It is this generational legacy that the videos focus on, beginning with a look at the personalities, histories and intrinsic connections to carnival that have brought the band to where they are today. The second part of the series follows the band as they prepare in the buildup to carnival while the finale inevitably features the carnival performance itself, capturing everything that makes carnival so special in the process - from the floats to the food, from the soundsystems to the street-style.