Dezeen promotion: adidas Originals has reimagined a cushioning system it developed in the 1990s to create a shoe that is "built for natural motion".
adidas Originals revisited designs it originally developed for running shoes when creating the form of its new P.O.D.System lifestyle sneakers.
The shoe's distinctive feature is a "podular" outsole made up of three components, each featuring a different shock-absorbing technology from the sportswear brand's history.
Dezeen is exploring the story behind the shoe in our new P.O.D.System Architecture video series – a collaboration with adidas Originals that sees five Los Angeles-based architecture studios create unique conceptual buildings based on the sneakers.
You can watch all the movies as we publish them at dezeen.com/podsystem.
The modules that make up the shoe's outsole are designed to offer shock absorption and stability to the foot at key points of impact.
The high-rebound EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate) element offers a soft and responsive cushioning to the forefoot, while the Boost heel is designed to offer support to the rear of the foot.
These are connected by the third element, the Point of Deflection Bridge, designed to support the natural twist and curve of the foot. The name P.O.D.System takes it name from this element.
According to Nic Galway, senior vice-president of design for adidas Originals, the team took each of these modules from different shoes they found in the archive.
"We wanted to challenge the norm, challenge the obvious," he explains in a film produced by the brand. "We really took multiple soles, outsoles of different eras, started to cut them up into jigsaws."
Maja Romeike, senior product manager, says:Â "Our attempt was more to find the beauty in unexpected combinations".
A breathable mesh construction forms the upper part of the shoe, which features adidas' trademark stripes on its side, fabric lace eyelet panels and a branded heel tab.
The brand describes the design as "a new sneaker for the street".
"We have this great past and we have this amazing future," said Galway. "P.O.D is really about connecting that past with the future."
The P.O.D.System saw saw a limited launch last month, featuring an all-black body with yellow and blue accents, and a white bubble-patterned heel.
It will be globally available to purchase in stores and online from 2 August 2018, in even more colour ways.
For more information, visit the adidas website.