The collection, which has been captured in a new campaign by Tyler Mitchell, is set to be released later this month
Grace Wales Bonner has reunited with adidas Originals for a new Autumn/Winter 2021 capsule collection. The collaboration – which is the third of its kind – is set to be released on November 16, with an accompanying Tyler Mitchell-shot campaign being unveiled today.
The collaboration follows Wales Bonner’s main Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, titled “Black Sunlight”. In it, the designer pays tribute to Black intellectualism and the radical diasporic scholars of the 1980s, by reimagining classic colours, cut lines and silhouettes from the era. For her adidas collaboration, she leans further into this theme: elevating iconic pieces from the brand’s archives with scholarly graphics and iconography (to represent “academic and spiritual growth”). The 80s-inspired collection will include T-shirts, anoraks, trainers, and jumpers, as well as a refreshed take on adidas’ signature tracksuit tops and bottoms.
The accompanying campaign, captured by Tyler Mitchell, evokes a similar sense of nostalgia. Shot in a park on a balmy summer’s afternoon, it invites viewers into an idyllic space of leisure, with models playing sports, riding bikes and relaxing outdoors. The images are transportive, hoping to convey “emotive feelings of freedom, intimacy, and brotherhood drawn out through unfettered authenticity and connectedness.”
This is the third collaboration between Wales Bonner and adidas Originals. The last, which debuted in March this year, took inspiration from the Jamaican dancehall scene; while the first drew its references from London’s Black community in the 1970s. “I wanted to explore the intersection between tailoring and sportswear,” Wales Bonner told AnOther last year, following the announcement of the first collection. “I was interested in how sportswear was naturally integrated into people’s wardrobes alongside tailoring and wanted to speak to this effortless and elevated approach to dressing.”
The adidas Originals by Wales Bonner Autumn/Winter 2021 collaborative apparel and accessories will be available globally on November 16 at adidas.com, on Confirmed, and through select retailers. Footwear will launch at the beginning of 2022.