Believe it or not, the latest collaboration between adidas and United Arrows and Sons was actually inspired by referees. You see, back in the 1970s, the adidas Originals Master was originally designed in France to be worn by referees. Instead, the sneaker's clean, minimalist look caught on with lifestyle fans and the sneaker became more of a fashion statement than anything else.
It's pretty wild to think of a sneaker made specifically for referees. Could you think of someone like Ed Hochuli getting his own signature shoe? While the idea of an Air Hochuli seems quite absurd, today's NFL officials do actually have their own Nike shoes. Ever since the Swoosh took over league outfitting duties in 2012, the officials have been wearing an exclusive sneaker similar to the Nike 1.3 trainer. Instead of a mesh upper though, the sneaker comes with an all leather upper. Just like the athletes they cater to, Nike also includes performance technology like Flywire cables for the officials. After all, being on the NFL field demands a certain performance standard whether you are on the field or not.
Check out the referee-inpsired United Arrows & Sons x adidas Original Masters collab in the gallery above and get a look at what today's NFL referees wear on field below.
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