Adidas Yung-96

Adidas came a long way from scrapping secondary materials during the post-war ethos to morphing into one of the huge business conglomerates to ever dominate the sneaker market. One thing is for sure, their rise to power as a fashion powerhouse was initially influenced by running. In the early stages of its development, Adidas stayed tangent to its goal as a footwear provider who untiringly enhances performance and utility.

Ubiquitously known to have a soft spot for athletics and sports, Adolf Dassler or Adi for short had a knack for physical activity as a teen. Enlisted to be a baker in his pre-war years, Adi quickly lost interest in flour-based goods and developed a niche for creating shoes. Of course, this newly-acquired hobby of his can be traced deep within his genes as his father was a cobbler.

After serving his conscription for the army, he returned home with shoe-making still fresh in his mind. Due to the aftermath of the war, resources for footwear production were scarce and scavenging for parts was the best thing to do. Leftover parachutes were turned into slippers while for leather, he gathered strips from army helmets and bread pouches. Knowing that material inputs were futile, he resorted to repairing existing footwear based on the customer’s preference.

From here, Adi invited his brother Rudolf to launch a company. The two siblings established the Gebruder Dassler Sportschuhfabrik in July 1924. Though it was highly unlikely for a business to strive during this period, the duo’s company proved otherwise. From 50 shoes per day, the company doubled in only a relatively short amount of time. Jesse Owens in the 1936 Summer Olympics became their prime leverage in spreading not only throughout Europe but also in international territories.

Before the century approached its median, the relationship between the two brothers became sour. The misunderstanding led to the creation of two companies which is now known as Adidas and Puma. The Adidas titles were the synthesis of Adolf’s nickname and surname which is famously being associated as an acronym for All Day I Dream About Sports--a mantra which embodies Adi’s love for athletics.

                 The Torsion System and its Children

Adidas flourished throughout the decades giving its consumer base a good knack for versatile footwear. Though there were a few downfalls, Adidas struggled to keep the brand alive by keeping their footwear technology up-to-date. One of these said techs was the Torsion system which was first seen in the Adidas ZX8000. It improves the transition from heel-to-toe while providing midfoot support.

The Torsion system made a home in the Adidas EQT franchise. It was the staple technology that was almost utilized in every iteration within the collection. Before anything else, it is best to understand what EQT stands for. EQT is a shortened term for Equipment as per its creator, Peter Moore. One might ask, why equipment? Well, the word equipment signifies something that is no bullshit and gets the job done. Inducing something like this all-around shoe is pretty promising.

The early nineties saw the growth of the EQT line-up and its ever-so-loyal cult following. Adidas focused their efforts on shoes built for multi-platform ventures, specifically one for running. In 1997, they introduced the Falcon Dorf, a running shoe which was inspired by a small Franconian village where the international running team passed every day. The original name was Falkendorf, but Adidas tweaked it a bit and refurbished it into a more international-friendly moniker thus the birth of the Falcon Dorf.

Fast-forward to 2018, Adidas ingeniously resurrected the Falcon Dorf and made it into a prominent dad shoe silhouette for both men and women. Women were given the Adidas Falcon, a female-exclusive sneaker bearing the upper hint of the Falcon Dorf. Men, on the other hand, was gifted the Yung-1, a chunky and playful low top sneaker reincarnating the appeal of the 1997 classic.

                 The Adidas Yung-96

The sophisticated design cues of the Yung-1 were given a new take to oblige with the underdeveloped dad-shoe loving community. Its chunkiness with its somewhat eccentric detailing was stripped down into a finer silhouette which still stands proud as a sneaker for the fathers. The Adidas Yung-96 showcases smoothened-out edges with basic color blocking as compared to its predecessor.

The promising follow-up utilizes the same necessary materials as the Yung-1 including a combination of nubuck and mesh. The radical design concept doesn’t stop there as the Yung-96 possesses the same aggressive midsole tooling from its Yung brother. Harnessing all powers of stability, the Yung-96 follows the same technological breakthrough specifically the Torsion system positioned underneath the mid shank area.

Introducing a dad shoe in a zeitgeist full of colorway hungry citizens implies that a platoon of renditions would actively spurt out like mushrooms in the upcoming years. The first couple of iterations to debut the low top dad sneaker were the Cloud White and Orca (black and white). The almost conjoined twins of editions were released on August 30, 2018.

With only weeks in between, the riveting silhouette boasted another set of colorways mainly the Trio which was released on September 20. This rich collection resurrects vintage detailing courtesy of pigments like white, orange, grey, and green. The pack was also emphasized by 3M detailing found on the shoes’ underlays. And lastly, global sneaker giants like Adidas would surely include a Triple Black colorway into its new iteration’s line-up.