Discover: How The adidas NMD is Going to Change the World... Again

Picture this: it’s 2015 and you’re queuing up to be one of the first to get your hands on the newest adidas silhouette, the NMD. The term “cultural reset” sounds pretty cliché, but when the adidas Originals NMD _R1 first dropped, the streetwear and sneaker scenes came as close to it as possible. Sleek, minimal and designed to prioritise comfort, the original NMD managed to capture the attention of sneakerheads all over the world. Taking inspiration from some of adidas’ most iconic running silhouettes, the MicroPacer, the Rising Star and the Boston Super and pairing it with the German Brand’s iconic Boost technology, the NMD_R1 was a shoe for the serious sneakerhead.

Launched in New York just 11 months after the pioneering adidas Ultra Boost, the NMD rewrote the book on what to expect from your runners. Switching out the structured upper of the Ultra Boost for a pretty-much unheard-of sock-like construction, the new silhouette subverted the typical running shoe, blending the technology into a shoe that transcended runner territory and instead creating a lifestyle-ready icon. With a name that managed to sound technical, yet whimsically stood for “Nomad,” the shoe was designed for not only urban exploration, but also a lifestyle without boundaries.

On a personal note, the original NMD was one of the first shoes I ever queued for, and I’m sure that’s the same for many sneakerheads my age too. But a few NMD silhouettes later, adidas are about to launch a new gamechanger, complete with new technology, and a more futuristic design in the NMD S1. But how did we get here? We’ve spoken to some members of The Sole Supplier team to find out exactly what made the NMD an iconic family of shoes, and the importance of evolution within the field of sneakers.

For sneaker brands, launching a new model is both risky and expensive. Not only does it cost a lot to create the moulds, but it’s impossible to know how the public will react to the silhouette. When it came to the original NMD, adidas had struck gold. The pairs saw Yeezy-like line-ups and sold for huge markups on the resale market. Where sneakers are typically a retro-driven business, it was incredible to see a shoe with no celeb collaboration or co-sign driving that much hype.

“Whenever NMDs are mentioned, I always think of the originals,” says Jamie, our SEO executive. “I first started getting into sneakers and streetwear in 2015/2016 and the NMD was the IT shoe of that period.”

Blending both old and new, it stood out against the tired silhouettes that were taking over the scene at the time. Forgoing the celebrity endorsements and collab culture that carried many pairs in the mid 2010s, the NMD triumphed in design. When the OG version dropped, it was done up in a timeless black and white colourway, with only small pops of blue and red on the midsole plugs to add some contrasting colour. The upper was constructed from adidas’ soft Primeknit, designed to provide a secure fit whilst hugging the foot for a supportive ride, and the Boost-based sloped midsole cemented the pair as one of the most comfortable styles ever made. Although based on running shoes past, the NMD was never designed to be a running shoe, and they crossed well into lifestyle territory as the choice of city slickers everywhere.

The style later saw collabs with the likes of BAPE, Sneakersnstuff and Nice Kicks, which further propelled its iconic status. By collaborating with some of the most culturally relevant brands in the game, adidas had managed to make the NMD impossible to ignore. “The NMD was one of the first sneakers to really take over and dominate the industry and was at the forefront of the emerging movement of streetwear becoming more mainstream. It was the shoe that really brought streetwear to a bigger audience,” Jamie adds.

If the NMD name combined technicality with a free spirit, the City Sock (or CS1) took things a step further. Featuring a slip-on design that never would have provided enough security as a runner, the City Sock was the perfect, comfortable lifestyle shoe. As its name suggests, the style fast became a commuter favourite – sleek enough to wear into the office, cool enough to be caught dead in outside it. This perfectly encompassed adidas’ vision for the NMD, with urban exploration at the core of the model.

The CS1 also serves as a likely inspiration for a lot of the sock-like and laceless models we later saw take over the sneaker scene, earning them an even wider influence. Of course, the pair also saw their fair share of collaborations, joining up with the likes of United Arrows and KITH, as well as White Mountaineering and Gore-Tex to create the perfect, year-round commuter shoe.

But the NMD name further cemented its status with its first real evolution, the NMD Human Race Trail, which saw a co-sign from rapper and fashion tastemaker, Pharrell Williams.

Where the R1 was praised for putting minimalist design over hype, the Pharrell collabs certainly went for the best of both worlds. Having already got a contract with Kanye on their side, adding another rapper like Pharrell to adidas’ roster was sure to guarantee more success. It brought even more attention to the shoe – as well as the sneaker heads that celebrated the NMD_R1, it drew in the crowds that saw sneakers as part of the wider fashion, lifestyle and rap culture, replicating what was happening at Yeezy.

By the time the Pharrell collab hit the shelves in 2016, the NMD had already seen a couple of iterations. The shoes had evolved into the NMD Chukka, which featured a higher cut, boot-like upper; the City Sock, and the XR1 with a cage assisted lacing system. The HU NMD went a step further though, completely overhauling the upper and lacing system to introduce a sock-like construction with a lace cage that came bound to the sole. Whilst a lot had certainly changed, key elements remained the same. The upper was still Primeknit. The Boost sole still sloped. But even more importantly, the hype was still there.

“Pharrell Williams' NMD Human Race really revolutionised the world of sneaker design and collaboration culture,” says Adam Cheung, The Sole Supplier’s Editor-in-Chief. “Before Skateboard P took on the iconic Nomad, trainer collaborations basically consisted of an artist slapping their name on a shoe, tweaking the colourway a bit, and calling it a day. This was all too easy for Pharrell, as he completely reworked the R1 from the ground up.”

“adidas gave Williams full creative reign for this drop, and even though the line is now six years old, its overall design has pretty much remained unchanged since - a testament to just how timeless the aesthetic is. I'd love to believe that it's because of this project that brands started giving more freedom to collaborators to remix classics, and it's the reason why projects like Virgil Abloh's Off-White x Nike "THE TEN" exist.”

Whilst a few HU NMDs and HU NMD Trails were put out under Pharrell’s name, you’d still be hard-pressed to find a pair that had as much cultural impact at the Chanel pair. Limited to just 500 pairs, the sneakers were raffled at Paris’ historic Colette Boutique, were there reportedly over 120k entries. Jamie believes that this led the way for even more designer collaborations; “without the NMD, and most notably the Chanel x Pharrell pair, we wouldn’t have the adidas x Gucci and Louis Vuitton x Nike collabs which we’re seeing today.”

It’s clear that there were a number of things that drove the NMD to those dizzying heights, but ultimately, it was fresh and modern. Pairing perfectly with the bold streetwear styles of the time, it didn’t look like a performance shoe like the Ultra Boost did, and of course later models had the added bonus of being driven by collaboration and hype. Whilst the latter is the main driving force between much of the market right now, the introduction of the NMD S1 is set to follow the same disruptive entry as the original NMD, shaking up the industry once again with a more refreshing take, reliant on serious technology and incredible design. And what better way to cleanse the palette than with a minty-hued pair to kick things off with?

When it comes to design in any form, evolution is not only inevitable, but it’s also an essential part of the process. There were a number of models between the HU NMDs and this latest edition, but few seemed to hold the same cultural significance of the earlier models, so the team took things back to basics. When creating the S1, designer Oddbjorn Stavseng and category director Gaéten Saint-André said that they didn’t want to be limited to reusing what they’d learnt from building the NMD_R1 all those years ago. For the S1, they revisited the original gene pool, and also added a reference from the Marathon TR, which can be seen in the Trefoil lug pattern on the NMD S1’s outsole. The pair still contains Boost technology – those comfort levels will take some bettering - as well as a 360-degree knitted upper for a seamless and comfortable fit. Whether the gene pool is as heritage-based as first thought is up for questioning though, the S1 features a monofilament side stripe much like that seen on the Yeezy Boost 350, and the knit collar is akin to that seen on the 450.

As with the first NMD, creating the NMD S1 was a case of blending art and science, and indeed hoping that the market will welcome it with open arms. When NMD S1 first dropped they sold out everywhere, and are currently sitting on resale sites for almost double the retail price. And sure enough, with the fashion world foraying into techwear and all things Gorpcore, perhaps an accessible yet technical sneaker is exactly what the market needs again. One thing is for sure though, it just goes to show that in a world of retros, future classics can, and will (if done right), continue to change the world, over and over again.

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