adidas may be an underdog in the footwear industry but its presence in the world of music is surpassed by none, and last night the brand proved this notion once again at MTV's Video Music Awards.
Back when Kanye West performed at the Grammys in February, he wore his first signature adidas sneaker, the Yeezy 750 Boost, which had strategically leaked just days before the televised show. When that leak happened on Instagram the Yeezy hype train had already begun and adidas dropped subtle clues on what to expect at Kanye's Grammy performance.Â
But now adidas no longer needed to be subtle.
It was evidenced yesterday during the VMAs when the night's biggest stars all wore sneakers by the Three Stripes. Kanye's presence was felt all through the show as he made his way on to the red carpet rocking yet another new colorway of his Yeezy Boost 350.
The Weeknd literally performed an explosive set in "Pirate Black" Yeezy 350s.
Justin Bieber's emotional, high-flying performance was puncuated by another pair of all-black Yeezy Boosts on his feet.
Three Stripes ambassador Pharrell rocked his latest 'Supershell' Superstar collab while performing solo for the first time at the VMAs.
A$AP kept it lowkey classic in Stan Smiths while rocking one of his favorite brands, Gosha Rubchinskiy.Â
Even Macklemore, who's known to be an Air Jordan associate, was rocking a pair of adidas Superstars during his performance of "Downtown," across downtown L.A.
But designer Jeremy Scott may have had the most lasting impression on the show with his redesigned Moon Man award taking center stage. Scott's version of the 2015 Moon Man includes a peace sign necklace, TV color bars on the MTV logo, and, you guessed it, his own adidas JS Wings collaboration on the statue.
When you have some of music and fashion's biggest talents supporting your brand on a global stage at one of the most important industry award shows of our generation, it's clear that a powerful message had been sent through the airwaves—adidas won the VMAs.
And there wasn't a Swoosh in sight.
