Adidas Originals’ installation bridges experiential, billboard advertising, and art

Adidas Originals’ stunning installation in Taikoo Li, Chengdu, China, evades easy categorisation. But we like it.

In a kaleidoscopic celebration of colour and creativity, Adidas Originals adicolor Activation in Chengdu is part of a tour of the exhibit across the country. Nestled within the bustling streets of Taikoo Li, this vibrant installation beckons visitors to immerse themselves in a world where hues collide and retro styles reign supreme.

Created in collaboration with agency ABAXRRR, adicolor invites enthusiasts to “play the new” and embrace the timeless allure of adicolor. The installation serves as a playground for fashion aficionados and trendsetters alike, offering a unique opportunity to interact with the brand’s latest collection in a dynamic and immersive environment.

At the heart of the installation lies a collection of multi-colour, retro-style giant clothing replicas, each representing a hue from the new series of adicolor flash. Visitors are encouraged to take a group photo with hundreds of adicolor pieces.

Adidas Originals also invites guests to “open” themselves to the enduring legacy of adicolor, as they explore the brand’s classic clothing reimagined through the lens of modern innovation.

For those looking to take a piece of the experience home, portable pocket bags made from the adicolor series await, offering a stylish memento of their visit to the adicolor Activation.

Our take

My hot take on the high street is that a combination of rising rent prices, the modern obsession with capturing a social media moment, and spiralling competition from internet retail will force stores to become mini experiential spaces, of sorts.

I imagine that, instead of having a space permanently dedicated to a certain brand, shop spaces will function as pop-up venues, hosting whichever company spots a period of increased demand at a given time.

The use of XR, holograms, sculpture, and various forms of entertainment will increasingly become part of the shopping experience: assisted by the decreasing cost of production due to 3D printing, cheaper screens, and what have you.

It is interesting then, to see brands in 2024 rethink their physical retail spaces, and Adidas seems to be at the forefront of this, recently partnering with Offspring on a fetching pop up display. 

Adidas’ China-spanning activation is a bold ode to the retro, minimalist Originals range. The fashion is presented in a very stark and literal way, with an industrial edge.

The attention the display creates seems to be well worth the cost. And at a glance, it seems like a fairly cheaply replicable bit of creative to make any collection stand out.

The more novel brands can make a trip to the shops, the better, we reckon.