Adidas is known for its super deep sneaker archive, but it’s also known to remix and reimagine these classics. For the OZWEEGO and LXCON, they did just this: redesigning two heritage models for a new generation. But the story doesn’t end here. The brand also opened the “Future Studio” in the heart of Berlin and invited creatives to do their own share of remixing with projects that are powered by the past but also built for the future. The results are on display at the launch event in Berlin on August 8, just when the shoes are released.
For a full week, from July 22 to 28, 11 artists from arts, music and fashion were able to call the “Future Studio” their home and use the amazing space, lots of resources and even mentors such as agency Selam X to create something future-oriented and relevant.
Here’s an overview of the teams at the Future Studio: The Fashion group consisted of Melisa Minca, janaxnell and Jodie Calussi, and they worked on an upcycling project. They created new pieces out of vintage garments and unused material from the adidas “makers’ lab”, which designers use to work on new pieces. The finished pieces can be bought in the adidas Originals Flagship Store in Berlin for a good cause.
The arts group consisted of the artists Ju Schnee, Atusa Jafari, Silke Lapina and Maria Guojohnsen. And while they worked intensively together, the results were individual pieces that mixed digital and analog techniques, film and even projections.
The music bucket was represented by the artists Simon Kaiser, Rhina Love, Kikelomo and Alex Barbian who created diverse pieces that ranged from podcasts and DJ sets down to a manifesto about changes in the music business – all supported by Spotify.
The Creative Process
From the get-go, the artists were firing on all creative cylinders. The studio location, an abandoned apartment building, was fully equipped with everything that could possibly be necessary. There was even a fully-fledged recording studio for the music team. With all these massive resources and even mentors at hand, the biggest challenge for most of the artists was to settle on a specific idea that could also be realized within a week. Here are some impressions of the creative process.
Here’s an overview of all the artists involved in the Future Studio. They were divided into three groups – arts, music and fashion. There was team work within the groups but also an exchange between the different groups.
The Fashion Group – Jana Hübner, Jodie Calussi and Melisa Minca
The Arts Group – Silke Lapina, Maria Guojohnsen, Ju Schnee and Atusa Jafari
The Fashion Group – Jana Hübner, Jodie Calussi and Melisa Minca
The Music Group – Rhina Love, Simon Kaiser, Alex Barbian and Kikelomo
Rhina Love was one of the artists in the music category. Alongside the talents Simon Kaiser, Kikelomo and Alex Barbian, she helped realize diverse pieces that ranged from podcasts and DJ sets down to a manifesto about changes in the music business – all supported by Spotify. We sat down with Rhina to get to know her a bit better.
Hi Rhina! Great to meet you here at the Future Studio. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, please? Hey, I’m Rhina Love, I’m an artist and DJane and I play punk, funk, rock and pop music. I also play the drums and guitar and I’m a model as well. The Future Studio is all about messing with the past to come up with something relevant for the future. What’s your personal connection to the past? I was brought up very old-fashioned. I have lots of memories of listening to the radio at home and my dad also had lots of vinyl. So there was always some kind of connection to the past. I’m also from Bonn, which is the Beethoven city, and it turned out that I was also brought up with classic music. The same is true for the OZWEEGO, which adidas is launching alongside the projects of the Future Studio. What’s your opinion on the shoe? I think the OZWEEGO is very futuristic as we discussed earlier. It’s future-oriented, but in a way that’s also a thing that was typical for the 90s. It was very much about reflecting the future and imagining the future with monorails etc. So, I think it’s contemporary but also 90s.
Would you agree that your style of music also has a retro feel to it?
I think so. When I DJ, I often use organic music and instruments from the 60s and 70s. At the time, there was more band music than today. I think the same is true for my sense of fashion but although I’m into the 90s, it’s also about the 70s for me, which you can easily see in what I wear.
You have different channels for your different types of music – can you explain?
Yes, that’s correct. My live sets, when I did a live radio show for instance, you can find on Soundcloud. These are my own recordings. Then I have radio playlists on Spotify and Apple music, which you can all find under “Rhina Love Radio”.
Can you tell us something about your project in the Future Studio?
I really like to work with old equipment, especially camcorders and analog cameras. So when we do the podcast this week, we’re also going to document it with these devices. Of course we’re also putting together some nice music. Besides working with the other guys from the music team here, I brought my own artist collective here, the “Rhina Love Gang” or “Love Kids International”. So be prepared for some exciting stuff
Atusa Jafari was on the arts team in the future studio. The 19-year-old creative from Berlin is known for her paintings on canvas that defy any genre classifications. In the Future Studio, she combined classic painting, digital art and film for a unique piece.
Atusa, your artwork is a combination of genres. It’s also the result of heavy team work with the other girls in the Future Studio. Can you tell us something about the vibe in this week? The week was completely crazy and nothing I had ever expected. I loved to work with in the team for a number of reasons. More eyes are able to see more. There may be some advantages to working alone but if you collaborate with people who know what they’re doing and who are motivated, it’s magic. It’s something I really want to do more often. The overall topic is messing with the past in order to come up with something relevant for the future – just like the OZWEEGO or LXCON for footwear. Were you able to get inspired by this theme as well? When you paint you can interpret the past in two ways. You can take the literal past and connect yourself to an era, let’s say the baroque era. Or you can take it on another level. I decided to paint a woman both in the past and in the future.
We’re really curious about the result, Atusa. You already mentioned the collaboration with the other artists. Can you elaborate on that?
It was really awesome because you were able to connect with other artists and everyone was supportive of each other. You’re able to exchange techniques because someone has a background in graffiti and can help you with it. The motivation was really high and because we often shared the same opinions, we were able to help each other out.
Was the final artwork different from what you had planned in the beginning?
My final work wasn’t in any way what I had planned! But it’s the best result possible. When Nina from adidas said the “sky is the limit” she was right because we had endless possibilities, but it was also difficult to commit to one idea. After so many discussions with other artists and a presentation by Selam X I had the idea to combine classic painting, digital art and film. It was all new to me, because I usually just work with acrylic and canvas.
Fashion designer Melisa Minca from Berlin is 28 years old fashion and specializes in upcycling custom tailoring and ethical production, which is sold under the Melisa Minca brand name. Originally from Bratislava, she never studied fashion design. When she moved to Berlin and couldn’t find a job, she invented her own.
Melisa, how did your interest in upcycling first start? People always ask me if I studied fashion but I always surprise them when I say I studied sustainable development and politics. I studied in Edinburgh and my final paper was about sustainability in fashion so that kind of inspired me to explore it more. So, upcycling is your take on sustainability, right? Yeah, it is. It has been said that fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world and although it’s not easy to measure and not so black and white, I wanted to change something about it. I thought, if you want to change the world, you might as well start with fashion. The Future Studio is all about messing with the past, which is a natural part of upcycling. Did the approach inspire you? Just working with fabrics that are presented to you? Yeah, absolutely. I think I’m even more creative when I have a limited amount of resources. People say that this is how it works in general. I guess, when you bring me to a fabric shop I’m almost overwhelmed and don’t know what to do, but if you give me two meters of whatever, I will already have ideas because it’s limited. Upcycling is good for that.
As part of your project you’re upcycling pieces from past collections and material that came from the maker’s lab. How important is it to you where your raw material comes from?
To me, they are just fabrics depending and the material they can be used for different things. But it was really important to me that we can work on old clothes. I’m really glad adidas listened and did it.
The OZWEEGO and LXCON are a mix of past inspiration and future design. Do they inspire you as well? How would you describe the designs?
I would definitely call the footwear designs futuristic. I’m not a sneaker person if you can say that – but I’m slowly becoming one. It feels interesting and new to me, definitely inspiring. And it fits the movement of “futurewear”, where brands imagine what people will wear and all that. It’s what fashion is about today, reimagining things, because you are not going to reinvent the wheel, but always try to make things contemporary.
Release Details – adidas OZWEEGO
The adidas OZWEEGO colorways release on August 8, 2019. They launch at 0:00 CEST via adidas.de, where each style retails for 119,95 €.
Here’s an overview of all the artists involved in the Future Studio. They were divided into three groups – arts, music and fashion. There was team work within the groups but also an exchange between the different groups.
The Fashion Group – janaxnell, Jodie Calussi and Melisa Minca
The Arts Group – Silke Lapina, Maria Guojohnsen, Ju Schnee and Atusa Jafari
The Music Group – Rhina Love, Simon Kaiser, Alex Barbian and Kikelomo
Rhina Love was one of the artists in the music category. Alongside the talents Simon Kaiser, Kikelomo and Alex Barbian, she helped realize diverse pieces that ranged from podcasts and DJ sets down to a manifesto about changes in the music business – all supported by Spotify. We sat down with Rhina to get to know her a bit better.
Hi Rhina! Great to meet you here at the Future Studio. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, please?
Hey, I’m Rhina Love, I’m an artist and DJane and I play punk, funk, rock and pop music. I also play the drums and guitar and I’m a model as well.
The Future Studio is all about messing with the past to come up with something relevant for the future. What’s your personal connection to the past?
I was brought up very old-fashioned. I have lots of memories of listening to the radio at home and my dad also had lots of vinyl. So there was always some kind of connection to the past. I’m also from Bonn, which is the Beethoven city, and it turned out that I was also brought up with classic music.
The same is true for the OZWEEGO, which adidas is launching alongside the projects of the Future Studio. What’s your opinion on the shoe?
I think the OZWEEGO is very futuristic as we discussed earlier. It’s future-oriented, but in a way that’s also a thing that was typical for the 90s. It was very much about reflecting the future and imagining the future with monorails etc. So, I think it’s contemporary but also 90s.
Would you agree that your style of music also has a retro feel to it?
I think so. When I DJ, I often use organic music and instruments from the 60s and 70s. At the time, there was more band music than today. I think the same is true for my sense of fashion but although I’m into the 90s, it’s also about the 70s for me, which you can easily see in what I wear.
You have different channels for your different types of music – can you explain?
Yes, that’s correct. My live sets, when I did a live radio show for instance, you can find on Soundcloud. These are my own recordings. Then I have radio playlists on Spotify and Apple music, which you can all find under “Rhina Love Radio”.
Can you tell us something about your project in the Future Studio?
I really like to work with old equipment, especially camcorders and analog cameras. So when we do the Spotify playlist this week, we’re also going to document it with these devices. Of course we’re also putting together some nice music. Besides working with the other guys from the music team here, I brought my own artist collective here, the “Rhina Love ギャング” or “Love Kids Int. ギャング”. So be prepared for some exciting stuff
Atusa Jafari was on the arts team in the future studio. The 19-year-old creative from Berlin is known for her paintings on canvas that defy any genre classifications. In the Future Studio, she combined classic painting, digital art and film for a unique piece.
Atusa, your artwork is a combination of genres. It’s also the result of heavy team work with the other girls in the Future Studio. Can you tell us something about the vibe in this week? The week was completely crazy and nothing I had ever expected. I loved to work with in the team for a number of reasons. More eyes are able to see more. There may be some advantages to working alone but if you collaborate with people who know what they’re doing and who are motivated, it’s magic. It’s something I really want to do more often. The overall topic is messing with the past in order to come up with something relevant for the future – just like the OZWEEGO or LXCON for footwear. Were you able to get inspired by this theme as well? When you paint you can interpret the past in two ways. You can take the literal past and connect yourself to an era, let’s say the baroque era. Or you can take it on another level. I decided to paint a woman both in the past and in the future.
We’re really curious about the result, Atusa. You already mentioned the collaboration with the other artists. Can you elaborate on that?
It was really awesome because you were able to connect with other artists and everyone was supportive of each other. You’re able to exchange techniques because someone has a background in graffiti and can help you with it. The motivation was really high and because we often shared the same opinions, we were able to help each other out.
Was the final artwork different from what you had planned in the beginning?
My final work wasn’t in any way what I had planned! But it’s the best result possible. When Nina from adidas said the “sky is the limit” she was right because we had endless possibilities, but it was also difficult to commit to one idea. After so many discussions with other artists and a presentation by Selam X I had the idea to combine classic painting, digital art and film. It was all new to me, because I usually just work with acrylic and canvas.
Fashion designer Melisa Minca from Berlin is 28 years old fashion and specializes in upcycling custom tailoring and ethical production, which is sold under the Melisa Minca brand name. Originally from Bratislava, she never studied fashion design. When she moved to Berlin and couldn’t find a job, she invented her own.
Melisa, how did your interest in upcycling first start? People always ask me if I studied fashion but I always surprise them when I say I studied sustainable development and politics. I studied in Edinburgh and my final paper was about sustainability in fashion so that kind of inspired me to explore it more. So, upcycling is your take on sustainability, right? Yeah, it is. It has been said that fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world and although it’s not easy to measure and not so black and white, I wanted to change something about it. I thought, if you want to change the world, you might as well start with fashion. The Future Studio is all about messing with the past, which is a natural part of upcycling. Did the approach inspire you? Just working with fabrics that are presented to you? Yeah, absolutely. I think I’m even more creative when I have a limited amount of resources. People say that this is how it works in general. I guess, when you bring me to a fabric shop I’m almost overwhelmed and don’t know what to do, but if you give me two meters of whatever, I will already have ideas because it’s limited. Upcycling is good for that.
As part of your project you’re upcycling pieces from past collections and material that came from the maker’s lab. How important is it to you where your raw material comes from?
To me, they are just fabrics depending and the material they can be used for different things. But it was really important to me that we can work on old clothes. I’m really glad adidas listened and did it.
The OZWEEGO and LXCON are a mix of past inspiration and future design. Do they inspire you as well? How would you describe the designs?
I would definitely call the footwear designs futuristic. I’m not a sneaker person if you can say that – but I’m slowly becoming one. It feels interesting and new to me, definitely inspiring. And it fits the movement of “futurewear”, where brands imagine what people will wear and all that. It’s what fashion is about today, reimagining things, because you are not going to reinvent the wheel, but always try to make things contemporary.The adidas OZWEEGO is a prime example of the Three Stripes credo of uniting inspirations from the past with a forward-thinking approach. Using the bold chunky aesthetics of the late 90s and early 2000s as a starting point, the sneaker incorporates retro elements into a futuristic design. An upper of mesh, suede and smooth TPU materials sits atop an Adiprene sole unit that provides lightweight wearing comfort. And just like the creatives in the adidas Future Studio, the OZWEEGO is living proof that retro cues don’t mean artistic standstill.
Release Details – adidas OZWEEGO
The adidas OZWEEGO colorways release on August 8, 2019. They launch at 0:00 CEST via adidas.de, where each style retails for 119,95 €.
To see the black colorway of the adidas Ozweego on feet, check out this editorial by Dead Stock Sneakerblog.
