Adidas Superstar Experience NY

The adidas Superstar basketball shoe, with its unique “shell toe,” has lived many lives since it first hit the scene almost 50 years ago. 75% of NBA players in the 1970’s wore them; 80’s hip-hop culture rapped about them; 90’s skate kids tore up the streets in them; and today, music phenom Pharrell has reimagined the iconic shoe in 50 brilliant colors. For the celebration of adidas’ re-release of the Superstar, Figure Plant helped tell the epic story of this sub-cultural icon that has for decades transcended both fashion and function.

Working closely with Kamp Grizzly, we activated the ‘Superstar Experience’ in the SoHo neighborhood, right in the heart of NYC. Inspired by both past and present, this installation chronicled the cultural legacy of the Superstar through dimensional storytelling. From the gigantic Shell toe emerging through the floor, to Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s locker, to the fabled Run DMC concert, and finally to the epic Pharrell rainbow neon sculpture (which now lives at Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club because he loved it so much), we sent visitors on a journey through the Superstar’s most significant moments.

Over the month-long experience, athletes, artists, and musicians mixed with students, designers, and sneaker enthusiasts, each of them drawn to the unique story of the Superstar. Upon leaving the experience, they all had two things in common: they understood the shoe’s place in history, and they shared a deeper connection to the adidas brand.