In 1996, a bright-eyed and excitable eight-year-old me wanted nothing more for Christmas than the Newcastle United training top. All my friends wanted a Buzz Lightyear, but I wanted a baggy-fitting piece of purple and black polyester with huge slashes of Adidas branding coming across the shoulders and down the sides. I got it, and the next non-uniform day I looked absolutely sensational – the 90s were brilliant.
In the 18 years since then (and the 16 since I could actually fit into it), I’ve had to content myself with other trendy elements of my wardrobe. That was until this week, when London stake brand Palace unveiled their collaboration with Adidas Originals and the ghosts of late 20th century sportswear came screaming back out of the wardrobe. Fusing the grit of the London skatewear company with Adidas Original’s quasi-nostalgic sports feel was never going to be understated, but still, the end result is bolder than anyone really expected.
Accompanied by an absolutely fantastic unveiling video, the collection is the latest brave pairing by Adidas Originals after Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, and… well… Star Wars all showcased the brand’s desire to do something different. Palace are another proposition entirely though, and have come up with 22 pieces of “teamware” that are suitable for the pub, the club, the match, the skate park, the sofa, and just the shops.
The designs are every inch as off-the-wall as you’d expect a Palace collaboration to be. There’s some Madchester headwear in there, a bit of World Cup Italia 90 Germany home kit, and to the total delight of my inner eight-year-old, something not dissimilar to the top I wanted all those Christmases ago. The whole collection drops tomorrow (Saturday September 27) and if it’s not draped all over trend aware inner-city types and mid-level European gangsters within a fortnight I’ll be stunned.
