In honor of reggae great Bob Marley, Adidas is about to unveil its first official shoe. The ‘One Love’ collaboration between Bob Marley and Adidas SL 72 was supposed to be released in February to coincide with the movie ‘Bob Marley: One Love,’ but there have been major delays. Nonetheless, the sportswear behemoth and the Marley estate are celebrating since Adidas has now officially announced an October 15 release date.
The $100 special edition SL 72, which will likely cost more when it releases, has a black suede and leather top with a tri-colored red, green, and gold sole that pays homage to the Rastafarian hues that have come to represent Marley’s persona.
- Advertisement -
The shoe’s heel features Marley’s signature, subtly engraved in gold by Adidas, and the insole features a co-branded graphic featuring the words “Adidas” and “Bob Marley” repeated next to each other. These distinctive details alone have the potential to turn this sneaker into a collector’s item.
The new sneaker was initially unveiled in a TikTok video earlier this year by Zuri Marley, Ziggy Marley’s granddaughter.
Designed for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the SL 72 running shoes made their debut. Dubbed “superlight” due to their lightweight nature, the shoes gained notoriety fast as a go-to choice for elite athletes looking for quickness and agility on the track. Recently, on social media, celebrities like Suki Waterhouse and Alexa Chung have started creating “buzz” about them.
The 1976 image of Marley rocking the SL72 may have served as inspiration for the new coloring.
The reggae legend had a long relationship with Adidas; during his life, he was often photographed sporting the company’s clothing, which included bold T-shirts that matched his carefree style and their iconic three-striped tracksuits. Although this is Adidas’ first official partnership with the Marley estate, Marley-inspired shoes and products have been available for the brand before.
The popular song “Three Little Birds” by Marley inspired the design of the Adidas Samba OG Ajax Bob Marley sneaker, which was part of the 2021 AFC Ajax away uniform. adidas also developed a fashion line with a Marley motif for the winter of 2020.
Adolf “Adi” Dassler, a German shoemaker, founded the Adidas brand in August 1949. The initial three letters of the creator’s surname name and first name, Adi, are where the name originated. Later, the business created the tagline “All day I dream about sports” as a way to promote Adidas.
Born in November 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Germany, Adi was the younger brother of Rudolf Dassler, the creator of Puma. He passed away there in 1978 at the age of 77.
Adidas, which is still based in Herzogenaurach, is the biggest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second largest globally, behind Nike, an American corporation. It specializes in the design and production of shoes, apparel, and accessories.
