Click through the nine Adidas by Stella McCartney lookbooks on Vogue Runway, and you’ll notice they all feature models in motion; some of them are dancing, some are practicing yoga, and others are jumping through the air. These are clothes you’re going to sweat in, after all, so it wouldn’t make sense to show them on a model standing still. Last November, Adidas and McCartney took their longtime collaboration a step further with an immersive experience in a massive Los Angeles show space, where models ran on treadmills, cycled, swam in a small pool, and even tried a drumming-inspired workout. “I wanted to show the clothes working,” McCartney explained at the time.
Combining Adidas’s technology with McCartney’s optimistic, playful sensibility has always been the secret. But this new collection felt particularly “Stella”—not least because it was the brightest, most colorful one to date. If anyone can get women in hibiscus pink, lemon yellow, and neon peach, it’s her. One bomber was almost glowing in fuchsia neoprene. “There’s never been a compromise between what I do in fashion and what I bring to this collaboration,” McCartney said. “I would never want to sacrifice style for sport, and we all fall back on our black workout gear, because it hides our sweat and the things we don’t want to [highlight]. But we have all of that [in our closets] already. So I want to encourage new palettes and variety in your sportswear. I think it’s hard to motivate yourself to go work out, and women don’t have enough time for it. So I always start a collection with the feeling that I want to make this a bit easier and more fun for women.”
Fun, but with the science to back it up. Adidas and McCartney upgraded their compression tops and ribbed-knit leggings with Adidas’s Boost technology, which has thousands of capsules that release stored energy with every movement. Much of the collection is sustainable, too, with recycled polyester, organic fabrics, and engineered, zero-waste items. Most athletic brands don’t cover even half of those bases.
