When it comes to innovation in the sportswear industry adidas may have been boring to get-go out of the gate, just in the past ii years the brand has finally managed to find its footstep. The reason for celebration is the Three Stripes' introduction of an innovative cushioning applied science dubbed 'Boost'.

But it hasn't been easy for the make to notice its basis.

Sure, adidas has a steady stream of iconic silhouettes nonetheless courting the public eye that remain largely unchanged over the decades similar the Stan Smith and Superstar, but the performance aspect of the brand lacked a defining trait for adidas to really call its own.

That all changed in 2013 when adidas unveiled to the world its most ambitious technology — Boost. adidas had promised Boost was a revolutionary cushioning tech that delivered the highest energy return in whatever running product, the type of tech that upends industries in the same vein that Nike'due south Flyknit did for its own line of running sneakers. Fabricated from thousands of especially formulated foam pellets chosen "energy capsules," the process itself to produce a Boost midsole requires the help of the world's largest chemical producer in the world, BASF.

adidas' bold claim that Boost would revolutionize the running manufacture and pave the style for hereafter operation footwear was met with skepticism initially, just it's actually based on science. "The way that information technology gives free energy back, information technology deforms. The amount of deformation and the way it returns and deforms in different angles, is uniquely similar to the manner your pes works," said adidas Global Creative Director of Functioning James Carnes.

To exist certain, Heave was a game-changer for the make, but the real turning point came the following year when adidas unveiled the Pure Boost, a full-length Boost shoe that was competitively priced. It was the first time in years that something this technologically avant-garde had come from the Three Stripes that was being adopted by both runners and sneakerheads akin.

"[kanye west] got to try the Pure Boost and his response was 'this is amazing.'"
—Nic Galway, vice president of global design at adidas Originals

Pure Boost took the sneaker world by storm and was hailed as a super stylish runner that was equally comfortable. Information technology was then successful that we fifty-fifty named information technology thebest sneaker of the year in 2014. And it helped that Kanye West, adidas' highest profile brand administrator, was often spotted wearing them too.

Nevertheless, every bit with any brand, progress needs to be made and this year saw the introduction of a new flagship adidas runner dubbed "the earth's all-time running shoe" — the Ultra Boost. That claim stems from its updated full-length Heave midsole combined with its Primeknit upper. "It's the greatest running shoe because information technology'due south got 20 percent more than Boost," Carnes explains. To paint a  more vivid picture, imagine 3,000 tiny foam pellets glued together all acting in unison to form what amounts to pillowy shock absorbers for your anxiety.

Withal, having a great product is but one piece of the puzzle. No smashing company has succeeded without some sort of marketing strategy and that's where Kanye West comes in. When it was kickoff appear that West would be ditching Nike for adidas, the sneaker world waited in earnest to see what the fruits of this partnership would finally agree and what happened this by February was goose egg short of genius.

In an expertly crafted social media leak, Kanye and his associates revealed to the globe the Yeezy 750 Boost, his inaugural signature shoe with adidas. The seemingly random reveal acquired a social media frenzy never before seen past an adidas release and succeeded in placing Boost technology at the forefront of the fashion and music worlds. It was a smart move for adidas to leverage the rapper'due south cult-like glory, but it was an even smarter move to contain Boost into Due west's offset signature sneaker with the make, providing the perfect stage for the tech to really shine.

At that place's no uncertainty that theYeezy 750 Boost wasadidas' most loftier-contour shoe ever to release, and its conception wasn't a walk in the park either. Tasked with aidingKanye in the blueprint of the 750 wasNic Galway, vice president of global blueprint atadidas Originals. Galway helped shape and ultimately channel W'south vision for what he wanted in a signature sneaker-- something completely new and different. "What's unique well-nigh this shoe is that its completely new; everything on the 750 was new. So it wasn't a typical procedure of taking something existing and building onto information technology, it was really starting from scratch and getting to know whatKanye Due west andadidias would be," Galway said. "That's how nosotros worked and getting that washed in around 12 months is incredibly quick in this industry."

Nic Galway, adidas Originals Vice President of Global Design
Nic Galway, adidas Originals Vice President of Global Design

Adding Boost to the equation wasn't ever role of the plan, however. It wasn't until West actually tried on the Pure Heave for the first time that he became obsessed with the tech and demanded information technology exist included in his Yeezys. "He got to attempt the Pure Boost and his response was 'this is amazing,'" Galway recalled. And he didn't only say that considering he'southward signed with adidas, 'Ye genuinely felt the difference when he wore them. "These are the rare innovations that the second you step in them y'all're sold, then it wasn't like we said 'We really need you lot to use this', it was more through meeting usa, through trying the products on that it became, 'I must have Boost in the shoe,'" Galway explained.

Kanye thought they were so comfortable he fifty-fifty played basketball in his 750 Boosts during his birthday, further cementing the overall versatility of the distinctive cushioning tech. While Kanye'south Yeezy Boost series is meant to be a high-end take on lifestyle sneakers, information technology's become increasingly clear that Heave's use can exist practical to more than than just running. "[Boost] started to piece of work non simply in some of our bigger, more traditional sports like basketball and baseball, but likewise in snowboarding and skateboarding," Carnes said.

If adidas can make Boost shine among its other sport categories as it has for running, the Three Stripes has a real chance to compete with juggernauts similar Nike, and finally dig themselves out of second place. It'southward the heave adidas needed to brand the German sportswear brand relevant once more.