adidas Originals has long tapped into culture as a source of design and direction. In Puerto Rico, that source became a stage. To mark five years of collaboration with Bad Bunny, the brand created a multi-sensory takeover, placing sport, identity, and storytelling in direct conversation with one of the world’s most powerful creative voices.
Timed to Bad Bunny’s record-breaking “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” residency at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the multi-day celebration unfolded across streets, museums, and stages, bringing together heritage, sport, and design in a tribute to both artist and island. Building on the success of the adidas Originals x Bad Bunny Gazelle City Series, a collection that serves as a love letter to the island that shaped him, adidas Originals brought that love letter to life through an ambitious plan that started in New York with a golden-ticket locker activation inside Grand Central on July 3rd and now continues through August 17th with the never-before-seen archive.
Over the course of the weekend, adidas Originals brought its creative legacy to life across Puerto Rico, beginning with a historic Formula 1 demo run on the streets of San Juan, marking the first time ever an F1 car had been to PR and more impressively the first F1 car raced on Puerto Rican soil. The celebration continued with the debut of The Archive: Puerto Rico Para El Mundo at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, a landmark exhibition showcasing five years of groundbreaking collaboration between adidas Originals and Bad Bunny. The archive featured 150 products, including more than 115 never-before-seen sneakers, offering a rare and powerful look at the evolution of the partnership, from early concepts to cultural milestones. During an intimate panel at the museum, designer Willy Chavarria joined adidas Originals’ creative leads to offer a rare glimpse into the design process behind the partnership.
A Homecoming
Before the weekend kicked off into full speed, intention was set by hosting Puerto Rican natives back to the island for an intimate dinner at Cocina al Fondo, where San Juan students were the hosts. The special moment created space for understanding why leaving your home happens, but always remembering your roots are just as important in storytelling. A unique menu rooted in tradition was crafted by a kitchen led by James Beard Award-winning chef Natalia Vallejo, who made history in 2023 as the first Puerto Rican to receive the prestigious honor.
The Speed of Culture
To open the weekend, adidas Originals, Bad Bunny, and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team brought the high-octane world of Formula 1 to the streets of Puerto Rico for the very first time. The energy shifted into high gear Saturday morning as over 12,000 people gathered along the historic Puente Dos Hermanos to witness the first-ever Formula 1 car race through Puerto Rican streets. With Bad Bunny officially joining the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team as an honorary member, Esteban Gutiérrez led the demo run through the heart of San Juan, delivering donuts, burnouts, and celebration laps that blurred the lines between motorsport and spectacle.
Alongside the run, adidas and Mercedes-Benz unveiled a pop-up exhibit outside the Coliseo, featuring authentic race gear from the F1 archives, including gloves, boots, and original team memorabilia.The moment teased an upcoming product collaboration, the AdiRacer GT, between adidas Originals, Bad Bunny, and Mercedes-AMG PETRONASF1 Team. That evening, the collaboration was brought to life onstage, as Benito debuted the unreleased design during his Saturday night performance, turning the performance into a moment of global product anticipation.
That evening, the celebration continued with a dinner with adidas partners at the iconic La Factoría, Puerto Rico’s world-renowned cocktail bar, where Oriundo curated a vibrant Puerto Rican menu paired with spirited conversation, music, and local flair. Oriundo is a culinary collective based in Puerto Rico, that is dedicated to identifying, preserving, and revitalizing native and naturalized ingredients sourced from the island’s diverse ecosystems.
From the Archive, A New Era
On Sunday morning, adidas Originals unveiled The Archive: Puerto Rico Para El Mundo. La Historia de Una Collab at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, marking the first public exhibition of the Bad Bunny Archive. As part of its commitment to local storytelling, adidas Originals announced the Resident Job, a temporary employment opportunity created to bring dynamic Puerto Rican voices into the heart of the experience. Winners, Natalia Krystel, and Xaavier Orlando Reyes, were chosen out of 3,000 applicants and served as on-site hosts throughout the exhibition, welcoming guests and helping guide them through the archive.
The experience began with a live panel led by designer Willy Chavarria and adidas Originals’s Rafael Mayorga, Valentina Benitez Castellanos, and adidas historian Sandra Trapp. Together, they offered rare insight into the design ethos behind adidas Originals’ most meaningful collaborations. The conversation delved into the creative process behind working with global cultural icon Bad Bunny, spotlighting how the brand’s “first or better” mentality has fueled five years of boundary-pushing ideas and executions. From the custom-branded airplane and the living flower installation at Coachella to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float, each moment has served as a testament to the power of originality and cultural storytelling. That commitment continued in Puerto Rico with two history-making moments: the island’s first-ever F1 demo run and the public unveiling of The Archive: Puerto Rico Para El Mundo—marking the first time the adidas x Bad Bunny collection was shown in its entirety.
The panel was followed by a white-glove tour led by Sandra Trapp, where guests explored unreleased footwear, early prototypes, and design stories tracing over 70 years of adidas innovation, all reframed through the cultural lens of Puerto Rico. The archive highlights iconic storytelling artifacts, including the exact shoes worn by Bad Bunny in the Messi campaign, the custom F1 helmet, Coachella’s 50,000-flower cube replica, the Pink Forum Easter egg kit, the gifted lunchbox from his branded airplane, the multicolor cube that housed Forum PWR Catch and Throw, and the custom cowboy boots created for the Response CL Paso Fino. The archive also offered a first look at a highly anticipated new colorway, Vega Baja, from the Gazelle City Series, with all four silhouettes displayed side by side for the first time.
“The Archive: Puerto Rico Para El Mundo. La Historia de Una Collab” opens to the public on Wednesday, August 6 and runs through Sunday, August 17, 2025, during regular museum hours.
The Stage as Statement
The night closed at Bad Bunny’s sold-out Coliseo residency, where adidas Originals capped the weekend with a surprise on-stage debut from designer Willy Chavarria, tying together a series of experiences that positioned Puerto Rico as a global touchpoint for culture, design, and innovation.
Through this multi-dimensional cultural moment in Puerto Rico, adidas Originals demonstrated the power of purposeful collaboration. The brand’s presence—spanning Formula 1, fashion, and archival storytelling, signals a bold future rooted in identity, innovation, and impact.