Pharrell Teases the New Humanrace x Adidas Samba Collab

The ongoing Adidas Samba motion continues, as Pharrell’s Humanrace sneaker line drops another variation to the mix. Pharrell recently announced that his Humanrace x Adidas “Colors” will be launching on May 6th – right in time for the UK bank holiday weekend festivities. Via IG, the creative genius posted a lineup of 9 different colorways – from red to pink. All color options are fully coated in the same monochromatic style as his legendary 50-shoe Adidas Superstar “Supercolor” collection which came out back in 2015.

The sneakers follow hot on the heels of the initial monochromatic Humanrace x Samba’s, released December last year alongside a capsule collection. All pieces of the first installment were beautifully captured last year by UK’s leading photographer & creative director Gabriel Moses.

Going by the pre-released images alone, these new releases seem to have taken the football-inspired Samba style and silhouette up a notch. The new additions to the Samba family introduces new, classy leather laces for the vintage, thin-sole shoe design. Smart & sleek stitching has been used to create a ribbed effect on the tongue, & also highlight the ever present 3-stripes. Pharrell describes the collaboration as another successful attempt at “instilling high-quality materials & craftsmanship“ into sneakers. Plus, the all-leather Humanrace “Colors” are said to introduce a new sustainable ECCO tanning process. This reduces the water required to make the shoes by up to 20 litres.

There have been whispers that Pharrell will roll out an early & exclusive release at his homegrown, annual “Something in the Water” festival (from today, April 28th) in Virginia. The likes of Lil Yachty, Summer Walker, Coi Leray and Ayra Starr will take the stage for this years festivities – curated by Skateboy P himself. The upcoming release could potentially make these $160 kicks the most widely appealing Samba’s. Thus far, the Samba charm has been its hit-or-miss styles: from quirky and old-fashioned materials to the retro colorblocking and Wales Bonner versions (and the very similar Gucci x Adidas Gazelle’s). Pharrell may have just commissioned a much-more universal look with these.

Is this style of Samba a cop or drop? A deadstock for the archives perhaps? Keep an eye out for the drop on May 6th via OffSpring UK, the Humanrace site or Adidas app.

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