We’ve got something very special for the final size? collections. To close out the year we sat down with @adifanatics and his vast adidas collection. Chronicling the ’70s, ’80s and beyond, Jason’s outstanding collection offers a time portal back to when these Trefoil gems first arrived on the footwear scene.
Could you start us off by telling us when your interest in adidas first began, and can you remember the first pair that really caught your eye and when that might have been?
“Growing up in the North West of England in the ’70s & ’80s it was very much the trilogy of football, trainers, and music took over. The first pair I can remember was a pair of Kick in 1982 or ’83 like everyone had at the time, a classic black pair with white stripes. And it sort of went from there really. There were a lot of nice adidas about, the playground was full of them, Jeans LA Trainer, some really good models then, and then from the age of about 13 or so every Christmas or birthday I’d always want a pair or save up for a pair. That continued into my teenage years and university, I started wearing Gazelles, and was then a real ‘wearer’ and always had a good few pairs to wear for a number of years until I really started working and had a bit more money to spend on them. Later on, obviously, things like eBay came along and trainers became more available, and what I loved was being able to buy the trainers that I could never have as a kid and could now buy later, it felt quite exciting and all grew from there really! That’s exactly the same feeling I have now, being able to track down all the ones I always wanted when I was younger but could never afford as a kid!”
Roughly how many pairs do you think you’ve got in the collection at the moment?
“Undisclosed numbers! Ha! That’s a trade secret…”
Have you had many pairs that have come and gone over the years and any that you regret getting rid of at all? Or is it just an ongoing collect-and-keep collection?
“I always collect and keep, I’m fortunate I don’t ever need to sell from a financial point of view. Sometimes if I’ve managed to get double-ups and a mate wants one I’ll happily pass it on for retail. But I’ve always seen myself as a collector, not a trader, so have never really had any regrets about getting rid of anything. There’s more regrets that pairs might hit the sale racks, and then suddenly years later they’re worth a lot of money 5 or 10 years later and become more difficult to get hold of, and you look back and wish you’d picked them up at the time.”
“I find that even with some general releases, they might sit for a bit, and go into sale, there’s no hype around them, but then when you want to try and find them years later they’re nowhere to be found!”
When did the real passion of starting to ‘build out’ a collection begin for you, and why have you decided to stick with purely adidas this whole time?
“The brand was never in doubt from years ago really, and I’m quite loyal to certain brands. All my clothes are Paul Smith, I’ve driven Audi for 30 years, I’m not really one for chopping and changing, so I think once I started getting into it they had the best models at the time and I never think about going to anything else really. I think the last 10-15 years the collecting side has just grown more and more with the ability to afford things more, and availability is better. Then I started my Instagram in 2020 during Lockdown, which then put me in touch with a lot more like-minded people, which has probably fuelled it as well really. I’ve always taken pictures of my trainers to share with my mates, but to be able to then share them wider and get comments back on them is something I really enjoyed.”
From working on the previous collections episodes and talking to people about this, I think community is something people really value in the culture of collecting trainers, and I’ve found this especially amongst adidas collectors.
“A lot of people I’ve got to know and met up with at different trainer festivals such as Laces Out, and you might go there for a couple hours to look around and might not even buy anything, but then spend another 5 hours just chatting to different people you see only once or twice a year, but you’re very likeminded and can chat away for ages. There’s a strong bond between people, and morals and ethics between people and friends within those communities. You’ll always have your eye open for something somebody you know might be looking for and try and help them out. It’s always stereotyped that it’s males between their 40s and 50s but it’s a lot more diverse than that.”
Is there a favourite franchise that you’re especially fond of, and are there any shoes that hold significant memories for you at all?
“Yeah there’s a few, I’ve got a pair of the 2002 Commonwealth Games adidas Manchester. I was doing an MBA at the time at Manchester Met, and one of the girls there was quite senior on the council and responsible for a lot of the Commonwealth Games set-up. So I mean completely unrelated in getting the trainers, but I always think of that when I think of those and it was a big event for Manchester at the time, and that was the start of the size? connection later on down the line with the 2010 1/500, so that was great to link back to Manchester roots. Always had a United season ticket, always lived in the area and was proud of the North West, so I think those Manchesters are quite special.”
“I’ve got a pair of Sao Paulo’s from 1978 made in West Germany, and they’re significant because I bought them when I was over on business in Tokyo, and I found this vintage shop I’d seen on Instagram that looked amazing, you had to get two subway trains out in the suburbs, it was a right old trek and a bit of a grail trip! That was great fun, and the guy there was really passionate.”
“I’ve been trying to find a pair from the years I was born in 1971, the closest I’ve got currently is a pair of Rom from 1972.”
Any Series in particular that you’re a big fan of?
“You guys released a few of them a couple of years back actually, there were lots of these ‘All’ colours that were released, some of the full-colour ones back in the ’80s and then there were these ones from the mid-2000s like the All Camou, and All Odd which I quite like which are really wacky! So there’s a series of 5 that are all odd and multi-coloured. I normally like quite muted colours but I love the colourful-looking ones.”
You’ve got to get them all, haven’t you!
“If there’s a set of something like the Island Series or the 1/500 I’ll try and get all of those.”
Getting into rarities, what pairs in the collection do you have that we might struggle to find in someone else’s? (We then had a great rummage through the collection to find a load!)
“So some unusual ones here, you’re probably aware of Kegler Supers. So the standard version has the three plugs in the back part of the midsole, but these are a couple versions without pegs which makes it look like quite a different silhouette. These were ’80s-era releases. Then we’ve got some 1972 Rom’s which are still very wearable. This one is quite a common shape but then we’ve got some which are Made in Australia with Rome on the side which is quite rare to see.”
“I’ve also got some adidas Tampico, these are from the early ’80s and made in Romania and made in France, but in 2012 they made the Potisono which is basically the same shoe but they couldn’t use the same name again.”
“Lots of Bambas that have this big toe bumper on the more traditional one, but these are Bambas from the late ’70s and early ’80s, these ones I’ve got here are made in Austria.”
“Not going to go through much on City Series but these are pretty standard size? exclusive Athen from 2017, then we’ve got the 2004 they were inspired from, but then we’ve got these Athen again but a completely different shoe, these blue leather ones are from 1985 made in Yugoslavia, so again something a bit different there.”
“We’ve got things like early to mid-00s Melbournes and Antelopes, these flat-soled style silhouettes. I’ve always liked Beckenbauers so I’ve got about 60 pairs of those. Lots of Italias. A few runners like the 1980s North American city series like the Seattle, Idaho, Dallas, I’d never wear a Velcro shoe but I do like it because it’s unusual. Bit more of an Oregon/New York kind of shape to them.”
“Dublins and Londons are probably my favourite silhouette in the City Series, we’ve got a few of the older Dublins like the ’70s Made in Yugoslavia, Romanias, Taiwans. There was a Consortium City Series collaboration series in 2010 with Solebox, Crooked Tongues, SNS, Norse Projects and others. There were some great Londons with Churches shoes in two colourways with great boxes as well.”
Lots of bits I’d never seen before there! So jumping back into the questions, is there a list of shoes you’re currently on the hunt for at the moment, or is it quite an organic process for you in just seeing what you come across?
“Yeah I mean, if there’s a set of something that I’m missing one or two of I’ll always keep an eye open for them. There’s a bit of a list that I’ll keep a lookout for if they pop up at the right price.”
What’s topping the list for you at the moment?
“There’s about 3 or 4 of the ‘MyCity Series’, there’s a pair of New York and Torontos in that set that don’t come up very often and haven’t been seen for a price I’m happy to pay, but I will do at some point! It is quite satisfying to complete a set. The good thing about adidas is that it’s not ‘neverending’, but there’s quite a lot to go at.”
Have you ever been on shoe hunting missions over the years, or travelled anywhere in the hopes of finding different pairs?
“Yeah whenever I’m travelling with work and I get the chance I will have a look, I would love to do something like one of those trips to Buenos Aires hinting down rare adi! I tend to go to Asia quite a bit with work so I’ll always have a look there, but despite what everyone says and research, the streets aren’t filled with gold in terms of a load of rarities suddenly presenting themselves! Tokyo was good but everything was pretty expensive. I was in Seoul in the summer and went around a good few markets which I thought might’ve had some vintage but was definitely a different taste there.”
Japans are definitely up there for me. I think the condition you find things in is sometimes amazing as well, they’re very well looked after over there. There’s always the chance I guess you might somehow find the regional versions of certain shoes as well?
“Yeah exactly, those Australian ones, for example, you might happen to find a version that is manufactured in a factory that did a reasonably small run or something, or franchised out and had different design features, that would be quite exciting! You always live in hope!”
There’ll always be something out there somewhere! Which pairs or series of shoes that haven’t had a reissue yet would you like to see make an appearance again?
“I really like the Napoli from the ’80s, and there was obviously a version released quite recently but there’s 2 distinct styles. So I think that version from the ’80s would be a good one.”
I can see from obviously looking through the collection for a bit, and looking over the older pairs, they just hold up so well over the years compared to some other brands, the soles on some of the ones from the ’70s are still in such good condition.
“As long as the soles are flexible they’re still good, I’ve got a pair from 1985 that I wore out on the weekend and they’re pretty good! I wouldn’t walk miles in them but I think they’re still good for wear.”
So you’ve obviously got quite a lot of our size? exclusive projects from over the years, what’s your favourite release that we’ve put out, and why?
“I think I’ll always like the 2010 Anniversary City Series really, that was a game changer for me when it really changed collectors and people were queuing up a lot more, and it all started becoming something else really. The ones in 2020 were nice to do it again 10 years on, but you can never beat those first ones really. Those 6 pairs will massively stand the test of time, obviously, classics like the Dublins and Manchester, and then Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff were all really good shoes.”
To finish up, if you were going to pull together your own shoe of any kind, and I can see you’ve got quite an eclectic range of tastes throughout the collection, what would your ideal shoe be and what kind of colours would you go for?
“I think it would be a City Series, probably something like a London/Dublin style shape. I like runner for comfort but I think I’d always choose a flat for pub-wear/terrace-wear. That’s what I tend to wear more of really so that silhouette suits me.”
What kind of colours would you go for?
“Generally, something like navy and blues would be something a bit more practical for me. Always been a United fan, but I also wouldn’t really wear red trainers!”
View more collections over on the size? blog.
