Edison Chen Designs Stan Smith-inspired Tennis Capsule for Adidas

Both Stan Smith and Edison Chen have been longtime collaborators with Adidas. The company’s signature sneaker for the tennis champ has been popular since its debut in 1973. And some 2.5 years ago, the sports brand brought Chen, creative director of the streetwear brand Clot, on board as a partner and designer for its Adidas Originals collection.

Adidas Originals, which was created in 2001 to reimagine key pieces within the company’s archives, uses the Trefoil logo and has become popular in street culture.

And now, Adidas has tasked Chen with designing a capsule of tennis-inspired apparel, accessories and footwear inspired by Smith. This follows on the heels of the launch of a beaded version of the iconic Stan Smith sneaker that Chen designed last month for his Clot label.

“The whole mission of me and Adidas hooking up was mainly to do footwear,” Chen said, “but I was really interested in their apparel, especially Adidas Originals.”

Chen said he’s long been a Stan Smith fan and some 20 years ago, Adidas actually made a custom version of the sneaker with his face on the shoe. This time, he opted against having his face on the shoe, instead incorporating more of the heritage of the line into the capsule.

The result is a unisex collection that includes a cotton crocheted vest and striped polos with matching fringed shorts and a tailored camp shirt with subtle lace embroidery. The varsity-inspired line sports a palette of forest green, cream and chocolate brown with subtle hints of maroon and gold.

When designing the apparel, Chen said, he was inspired by his daughter doing crochet at school as well as the loose knit tops people wore around the beaches in Europe. “We infused that with a little bit of tennis feel and the Stan colors to come up with something more contemporary.”

Chen described it as something “the cool kid sitting at the country club might be wearing.”

“It’s very relaxed, it feels very summery, it feels very casual, but still kind of chic and sexy,” Chen added. “Not so street, but still infused with a street DNA, and a little bit more mature.”

Yet the line still has classic underpinnings. “I just really wanted to keep it as close to the original DNA as possible,” he said.

In addition to the apparel, the capsule includes a reimagined Clot Stan Smith espadrille/sneaker in either white or black. “The Stan Smith is a silhouette I wanted to explore from the very beginning of our partnership,” said Chen. “Integrating an espadrille sole into such a legendary sneaker was a unique challenge, but it opened up new creative possibilities that reflect the spirit of both tradition and rebellion.”

To promote the collection that launches on July 12, a campaign featuring Smith, Chen, South Korean actress and model Hoyeon, British artist and skateboarder Blondey, Formula 1 driver George Russell and social personality and model Jashlem are all featured. The images are shot at a country club and speak to the collection’s distinct interpretation of that culture.

Chen said if the collection proves popular, he hopes to continue to offer options in the future. He noted that he’s been designing crocheted jackets for Adidas for three seasons. The first was inspired by the Superstar jacket, the second was “more ethnic,” and this one designed to “fit into a more tennis, country club outfit. Hopefully we’ll do more if this keeps selling.”