ZX Roots of Running Exhibition

If you've been lurking anywhere between Soho and Covent Garden recently - then you may have noticed that what looks like an adidas museum has appeared at the bottom of Earlham street. This new instalment is an exhibition titled 'ZX - The Roots Of Running', curated by Gary Aspden - a man who knows a thing or two about the history of the three stripes brand.

From the outside, lights dance off of glass cases as prospective sneaker-heads frost up these protective boxes, leering over the never before seen and future must haves. Think of this space as one huge trophy case - displaying splendours spanning 30 years.

We caught up with Gary to talk about the exhibition and why the ZX series is as relevant today as it has ever been.

When did your love affair with the ZX start?

Around 1985 . . . They are possibly my favourite footwear range of all time by any brand. They have everything – groundbreaking technology coupled with an amazing aesthetic and colour palette.

What were the biggest challenges and rewards with curating this exhibition?

There were a multitude of challenges – first with the book and then with the exhibition itself. Most of the OG ZX shoes have midsoles that are now beginning to crumble 30 years on so getting assorted collectors to lend them requires good relationships and an existing level of trust. We had a lot of conversations to pull together the shoes for the book and some collectors couldn't find all their shoes within our timeframe (such is life when a person has too many pairs!). We were unable to find some key releases like the OG ZX700 . . .we don't know of an OG pair that exists where the sole isn't completely crumbled now. Once we got the shoes we then had to get our friend Bobby McCarten to work on researching the words using assorted OG catalogues and Google translate. We then had to shape those words into an edit that had consistency for the book itself. We then had issues with the book binders and a French lorry blockade that almost caused them to deliver late – happily they arrived the day before the private view.

The exhibition itself comes with a myriad of challenges - from finding an appropriate venue, to the lighting, to the layout to the content (we had about 100 pairs of ZX that didn't make the final edit) all the way through to the security and staffing . . . Just dressing and padding 300 pairs of shoes is incredibly time consuming and that's before we started positioning them in the cabinets. We have had to invent some of the processes as we went along – as with all our exhibitions it was all very hands on.

As for the rewards - there are a number of those. Primarily raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust then seeing the positive reaction from the public is always good (we had around 2000 people come through on the Saturday) and seeing the emotion in Jacques Chassaing (who worked on the design of the OG shoes) when he saw his creations being celebrated.

What inspired the choices behind the pairs we can see on display in the exhibition?

The vintage ZX shoes were essential and beyond that it had to be a mix of key ZX releases like the A-ZX series and the Fall of the Wall pack. We also included some of versions of the collaborative shoes that have been released like some of the Kazuki ObyO series, the Star Wars ZX8000s, the Brooksy ZX550 and the Bathing Ape ZX8000.

Is curating something for the public harder than doing it for the 'heads' that know?

Not particularly - good design is good design and I believe that will cut through. I would question what qualifies a person as a 'head' nowadays in the world of athletic footwear. It's become very fragmented and the term 'sneakerhead' has been turned into a catch all term when there are lots of different types of collector.

If we came to the same exhibition in 5 years time – what would we expect to see from the future development of the ZX range.

Well if adidas can come up with more shoes that have that pure ZX aesthetic like the forthcoming ZX10000C I personally would be very happy. The look of shoes really are in keeping with the look of the original series.

Tell our audience why they should come down and see the exhibition for themselves.

Because the adidas ZX series is one of the most important releases of all time by any sportswear brand. If you know about then come and revel in looking at all these design classics under one roof and if you don't know about it (and claim to be interested in athletic footwear) then it's time you did.

The adidas 'ZX – Roots of Running' exhibition is open to the public from now until December 2nd 12pm-8pm at 21-23 Earlham Street, London, WC2H 9LL. We highly recommend that you get down there before it closes.