Focusing on the bare essentials

adidas Basketball rebrand focuses on stripped-down lifestyle

ADIDAS has stripped down to minimalism for its new apparel collection.

During a launch late last year, adidas Basketball released its Chapter 01 collection, along with a short film called Chapter 01: Remember The Why. Produced by creative agency Johannes Leonardo and brought to life by the avant-garde perspective of Illimiteworld, the film is rooted in basketball culture and serves as a call to focus on the game itself. As “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” by Alton Ellis plays, the film follows an unknown hooper through all the distractions of success until he finds ultimate serenity on a deserted court where it’s nothing but him, the ball, and a hoop, according to a release.

Present during the launch late last month in Glorietta was PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) Phoenix Fuel Master Tyler Tio, who was already dressed in the collection. We asked what he liked about it: “Just the fact that it’s very minimalist and stylish at the same time. It’s easy to wear,” he said. “You can match them with anything.”

They should even go with his favorite on-court shoe, The adidas Trae Young 2.0 (named after Atlanta Hawks Guard Trae Young): “The traction’s great — and I love Trae Young,” said Mr. Tio.

The line’s release comes in the heels of a rebranding.

“It’s the first collection that we’re releasing with the new branding of adidas Basketball. Before, when you talk about adidas Basketball, you would always refer to the performance lines,” said Jen Dacasin, Senior Brand Manager for adidas in the Philippines. “There was a shift in the business itself where everything basketball — mainly performance and lifestyle — we housed them under the roof of adidas Basketball business unit,” said Jen Dacasin. “It’s fully lifestyle, but the silhouettes are all created for the basketball athlete.”

Mr. Tio, dressed in the Metal Grey Chapter 01 shirt, stands at 5’11”, and the shirt looked roomy on him. The clothes, which include shorts, shirts, and hoodies come in Cloud White (cream), Metal Grey, and Halo Green (olive). Ms. Dacasin herself was dressed in one of the hoodies, in a small size, but even on her, the jacket also draped quite loosely. We also noticed less seams all throughout, lending to easier movement. “It’s very lounge-y,” Ms. Dacasin remarked. “It looks good from the outside but it’s very comfortable when you wear it.”

“It’s more of what they wear when they’re off-court,” she said about the line’s function, noting that, “This is too heavy for them to sweat in.”

As for the rather subdued colorways, she said, “We want to strip back from all the distractions and make it really very essential.”

“We want to tell our consumers: this is a reset. We’re revamping the whole of adidas Basketball,” said Ms. Dacasin. “The call to action to our athletes is: remember why you started in the first place.”

As for products to look forward to this year, she said, “This is really just the start of adidas Basketball. You will see more lifestyle and performance drops.” She advises consumers to look forward in February for NBA’s All-Star weekend on Feb. 19 (presumably for a related drop).

The 2023 Collection: Chapter 01 is available for purchase on the adidas app and at adidas.com.ph/chapters-basketball, retailing from P1,700- P5,200. — Joseph L. Garcia