Another post about basketball shoes! I hope you enjoyed the last one. This time we'll be looking at much more modern design, the Harden Volume 7 for Adidas with design lead by Jalal Enayah.
So a bit of background with the norms surrounding basketball shoes, as I mentioned briefly in the last blog what happens with the NBA is that if you are a big enough player, you get a shoe deal. And then if you are one of the best players in the world, the company who has signed you will probably offer to make you a signature shoe. Like the Air Jordan which was pretty much the first and set a trend that has been followed by many more brands.
One of the biggest names in this generation of the NBA is shooting guard James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers, and the shoe I'm going to talk about is the 7th signature shoe he has created with Adidas. The partnership has had ups and downs, as has James' career and he tends to divide a lot of opinion with his play style. Some think he's one of the greatest scorers to ever play the game but others say without a championship ring yet he's been a bust.
Personally, I love his game but I can attest to the fact the past few seasons have been disappointing. Not necessarily at the fault of James but none the less disappointing. And on the other side of the partnership, I must say Adidas have been a bit disappointing on the basketball front for the past few seasons.The brand has a rich history in basketball, providing shoes for the likes of New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing in the late 80s and being the big company that almost stole Michael Jordan away from Nike. Personally I used to wear exclusively Adidas basketball shoes but during my last 5 or 6 seasons I've steered clear due to lack of innovation, style and story. But this shoe seems to be the start of a comeback for both parties.
The volume 7 boasts a provocative form for a basketball shoe and is unlike the rest of the shoes on the market at the moment. Sort of like how Harden has a provocative game... What drew me in at first was the look it has, almost like something from a Japanese runway with the statement (for a basketball shoe) curved quarter panel. I recently bough myself a pair (yet to be played in) and I'm pleased so far with the fit also with its sock like liner. At first impressions the shoe seems to boast a new aesthetic for basketball with all the performance features a fast player like Harden would need. It's fresh and for Adidas basketball a fresh take was sorely needed, I think the brand was lost trying to fit in with the competitors over the past few years, but this shoe really is a bit of a peacock!
What makes it great is so is James Harden. As a public figure he's know for being fashionable and enjoying wearing stylish streetwear outfits. In a discussion about the deign of the shoe that I watched recently, the designer and James talk about how the shoe is the first one they have done that James was a key part in the design process as a creative instead of a muse, which I think is also a really cool fact about the shoe and makes it feel like a genuine product. With basketball players being more and more involved with high fashion culture due to the transition of brands like Dior and Louis Vuitton into the streetwear clothing scene, it makes sense to give the people a peacock shoe - its what they want!
James and Rapper Lil Baby An Example Pregame fit form James
The smaller details on the shoe have been done well too, the three stripes on the heel are a nice way to show the branding as a cool feature but let the form of the shoe shine through, and with the colour blocking on the release colour ways they have emphasised the form again.
From what has been teased by Adidas basketball too, this is only the beginning with more provocative silhouettes on the way and people are excited. Adidas' space age/high fashion era is here and I'm all for it.
What makes this design great is how it embodies the personality of the player, shakes things up and makes you excited about the brand again. I think a design is great when it evokes a great emotional response and this shoe certainly does that for me.
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