Was March adidas football's most innovative month ever?
Competition between adidas and Nike to offer the latest in football footwear innovation has been fierce this year. Making sure they were first to the punch, adidas launched three successions of groundbreaking innovations in March: the adidas Crazylight, the adidas Samba Primeknit and the adidas Primeknit FS.
The lightest ever football boot, the first ever fully knitted football boot and the first ever all-in-one knitted football boot and sock hybrid. March 2014 marked an influx of innovation at adidas HQ as the brand explored new avenues of football boot design both technologically and visually.
adidas Samba Primeknit
The launch of the Samba Primeknit marked a new chapter in the history of adidas football. The limited edition boots became the fist football boot to have an upper knitted from heel-to-toe. The one-piece knitted upper was designed to offer new levels of flexibility and comfort with advanced production techniques used to construct various performance zones across the boot.
adidas Primeknit FS
Landing just days after the Samba Primeknit, adidas smashed the status quo by launching the adidas Primeknit FS. Although only a concept model, the unique design became the world's first all-in-one knitted boot and sock hybrid, launching in a black, white and red design.
The 'sock silhouette' is designed to provide a bespoke second-skin feel that will offer 'the perfect fit from toe to calf' and is constructed using strong light yarns each with high precision coating to guarantee water resistance.
adidas f50 crazylight
Following on from the launch of the Samba Primeknit and the adidas Primeknit FS, adidas went on to launch the world's lightest commercial football boot ever produced: the adizero f50 crazylight. The chevron styled boots were an incredible 20% lighter than the inline adizero f50 model, tipping the scales at just 135g.
The adidas Innovation Team developed a totally new, next-generation lightweight skin which drastically reduced the weight of the upper. The sleek black and green coloured arrow design showcased the perception of forward motion and was finished off with bright orange adidas three-stripes.
adidas have stretched their research to seek out new inspiration sources to incorporate into football. Knocking down the boundaries of design, rebuilding them and then smashing them down again. If we showed you these boots a couple of months ago you'd have been forgiven for thinking they were decades away.
You might not like them all, but show us someone that doesn't want to try a pair and we'll show you a liar. Let us know what you think in the comments.
