Adidas by Stella McCartney hosts a virtual triathlon — and some sandbox yoga — in Culver City
One way to emphasize the technical capabilities of workout wear is with an actual workout. And that’s exactly what was going on in a Culver City studio space Wednesday morning as Adidas and Stella McCartney launched the spring/summer 2017 collection, the latest under their long-running collaboration.
Well, it was five workouts actually. Presented as a virtual triathlon, the dark, cavernous space was set up with a quintet of free-standing “rooms,” each focusing on a different activity. First up was a high-energy cardio jam (with high-profile DJ Hannah Bronfman among the model/athletes in the mix) designed to highlight the breathability and sweat-wicking properties of Adidas’ ClimaCool technology. (Although we’re not one to judge another person’s sweat, it certainly seemed to be working; the workout ending with more glistening than dripping sweat.)
The warm-up was followed by the first leg of the triathlon, in the form of swimmers lapping a narrow pool against a backdrop of ocean waves on a huge digital screen. After a few minutes, the swimmers popped out and struck a poolside pose, and it was on to the cycling stage — essentially a mini spin class conducted in lighting just low enough to demonstrate the reflective elements of the cycling jerseys, shorts, hats and light jackets while a nighttime downtown L.A. streetscape whizzed past on big screens.
The last leg of the virtual triathlon involved a quartet of women (including model Eniko Mihalik) taking a choreographed treadmill run to demonstrate Adidas’ foot-cushioning Boost technology. (Which it probably did, though, in all honesty, we found ourselves completely sidetracked with flashbacks of OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again” treadmill video.)
From there, all that was left was a session of sandbox yoga in the center of the studio space. Intended to symbolize a post-triathlon cool-down period, it had four models (including yogi Chelsey Korus) warrior-posing and downward-dogging the presentation to a close. Why a five-stage triathlon, you might wonder? The opening and closing tableaux were a way to highlight the collection’s new “training and recovery” range, designed for, according to the press materials, fast-paced movements, flexibility and support.
Afterward, Adidas by Stella McCartney senior director Emma Galway was on hand to point out some of the collection’s less-obvious technical details such as the fact that the yoga pants were manufactured to be seamless (and therefore more comfortable) and the floral-print running tights’ design elements helped return energy to muscles sort of like Kinesio Tape (Adidas calls this its “Sprintweb” technology).
While the event was designed to hammer home the collection’s technical capabilities, it also provided a glimpse at what’s in store style-wise for spring, including micro-dot-meets-floral patterns, bold colorblocking (some pieces managed to combine both), mesh inserts (at the sides of one-piece swimsuits and on running tights) and a color palette that adds shades of pink and yellow to the blacks and grays of standard-issue workout wear.
The collection unveiled in Culver City this past Wednesday will be available in January at Stella McCartney retail stores (including the West Hollywood boutique), Adidas women’s stores and a handful of high-end department stores, including Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, as well as at the Adidas and Stella McCartney e-commerce sites.
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