adidas Originals Hook-Up With Opening Ceremony For AW12 Collection

Celebrating the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, adidas Originals teams up with New York retailer Opening Ceremony, to reinterpret iconic silhouettes of the sports and lifestyle brand and create a premium capsule collection. The result of the Autumn/Winter 2012 collection is a playful, exuberant collection that draws on the prints, shapes and silhouettes of ’90s sportswear — imagined, of course, in Opening Ceremony’s signature whimsical aesthetic. Each piece stands on its own as a stylish ode to Olympic sport.

The collection combines sartorial elements of swim and cycling with a street attitude, producing a range of sporty separates, printed bathing suits and clever new takes on classic adidas Originals footwear. Much of the collection is unisex — down to the shoes — as well as modular: sleek anoraks are reversible from printed to solid fabric, while neoprene parkas feature zipped sleeves and torsos.

Prints prove essential, scattered across bombers and bike shorts and halter tops. The swim portion of the collection features a playful red-and-blue patchwork bandana pattern, while the cycling pieces come in one of two prints: a kaleidoscopic mini-floral or a hypnotic splatter-paint motif in shades of ochre, green, blue and white.

For women, the style brief is tight and bright. Sleek body-con dresses in printed neoprene hug curves, while bike shorts with decorative zippers add a sport-inflected edge. A neoprene halter top with trompe l’oeil collar shows plenty of skin; pleated nylon mini-skirts are edged in a reflective fabric for dramatic effect; and a dry-swim spandex peplum dress injects a dose of chic.

The men’s collection features everything from crisp chambray shirting and vintage-feeling French terry polos to oversize neoprene parkas and printed nylon twill bombers. A double-faced shearling blazer in reflective black is an essential for the fall that treads the line between future sport and classic comfort, while bandanna-print bike shorts and speedos are late-summer must-gets.

Footwear follows the collection’s motif of ’90s whimsy, featuring unisex jelly sandals and printed neoprene water-socks. Other highlights include Opening Ceremony’s reinterpretation of the classic Samba trainer, as well as a bold new BMX-style high-top sneaker with discreet printed sole.

The first adidas Originals by Opening Ceremony capsule collection will roll out globally to selected fashion accounts as well as adidas Originals and Opening Ceremony stores in July and August 2012. The line comprises 70 apparel pieces and 20 footwear styles for both men and women.