Tremaine Emory and his Denim Tears label is bringing his signature approach to design to Adidas Originals through a new collaboration.
Set to be released this weekend, the debut collection from the multi-year partnership features the Denim Tears Superstar 82 and Stan Smith 80 sneaker models.
On the Denim Tears Superstar 82 and Stan Smith 80, Emory covers the full cotton canvas uppers in a red, black, blue and cream plaid. The Superstar 82 adds contrasting serrated 3-Stripes, deep blue upper detailing and an embroidered canvas heel tab, while the Stan Smith 80 features a deep green suede heel tab and perforated 3-Stripes. Both carry metal eyelets, rubber tooling, and gold-foil Adidas Originals and Denim Tears logos.
The offering, according to Adidas, was inspired by a simple plastic plaid bag. The German athletic brand noted that the design was used in Asia on scaffolding and was referenced in plastic bags first made in Hong Kong by a Chinese tailor in the 1970s, later traveling to Africa. Brought to America by African and Chinese immigrants, the bag is now a fixture of New York’s Canal Street, where both communities still carry it.
“I want these symbols to be seen as American, because they are,” Emory said in a statement. “If someone sees this print and doesn’t see America, they’re seeing it wrong. The people who carry it are living here. They’re part of America, and what they do here matters.”
Emory was also inspired by the Sankofa, an Adinkra symbol of Ghana’s Akan people, which Denim Tears introduces as a new motif on the heel and tongue through this collaboration .
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