Since its launch in 1979, ESPN has broadcasted some of the most iconic moments in sports. The sports media giant kept us locked in to moments like Michael Jordan’s legendary three-peat run with the Chicago Bulls, Ken Griffey Jr. hitting his 600th home run in 2008, and Odell Beckham Jr.’s signature one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014.
SportsCenter has not only covered the latest news and highlights in the world of sports, but in the process has been able to give fans a glimpse of what sneakers their favorite athletes are wearing. From older fans watching Dikembe Mutombo get buckets in his eponymous Adidas model back in ‘92, to the current generation eyeing what the latest colorway of Lionel Messi’s game-worn cleats are, many of us have nostalgia for watching some of our favorite sneakers in action.
After helping define sports culture for decades, ESPN has entered the sneaker partnership game with Adidas. The ESPN x Adidas collaboration features an Adidas Top Ten Hi ($150) that commemorates the channel’s early studio set from 1979. The sneakers come dressed in a cream white, orange, and vivid red color scheme with subtle ESPN branding found on the tongue, ankle collar, and insole. They are paired with an Adilette slide ($35) done in a similar theme. The capsule was released on Oct. 10 and is available now.
We got the chance to talk with Christopher McClure, senior creative director at ESPN’s creative division Grande and Leonard, about the ESPN x Adidas collaboration. McClure offered insight on how the project came to fruition and what it was like working with The Three Stripes on the sports network’s first venture into an official sneaker collab. The conversation, edited for clarity, appears below.
Could you tell us how this project came together?
Disney is our parent company. In recent history, we’ve been working more with Disney on the consumer product side to establish relationships and develop collab situations so we could tell really great stories product-wise. We want to make sure we’re telling an interesting story and are doing it with a great partner.
In this case, Adidas reached out to Disney. Adidas was very inspired by The Last Dance film. They reached out to Disney about collabing with us in relation to product assortment at that point. I think once conversations started to happen, we had some really good dialogue of what the best opportunity would be. The Top Ten shoe came out in 1979, our platform started in 1979, so it all kind of synced up together.
Has ESPN ever had the idea of doing sneakers before?
First time. In my early consumer product days, there were some earlier conversations, but nothing really felt as right as this situation. I think when this came up, we started talking to the Adidas folks, we had really good dialogue about trying to tell a tight story that celebrated both sides equally in a way that felt like it made sense. To me that’s always the conversation to tell as a story that makes sense. We’re not just fabricating something, but this is something that’s real, that you could bring both brands to the forefront in a way that feels interesting, feels unique, and benefits both sides of the conversation.
I noticed on the box it quotes Lee Leonard. It said, “If you’re a fan, if you’re a fan, what you’ll see in the next hours, minutes, days to follow may convince you you’ve gone to sports heaven.” Are there any details in this capsule that stood out to you?
The funny thing is our name, Grande and Leonard, we’re named after the first two guys that were on air for ESPN and one of them is Lee Leonard. So that’s where it comes from. I was very inspired by their pioneer nature in the company and being the first people on air for ESPN.
Back in 1979, we were a company just trying to gain ground in the marketplace. I think with Adidas back in the day, with this shoe, [it was] trying to gain ground in the marketplace at that point too and make a name for itself. We were both on the same boat, technically. Different worlds, but the same boat. I think that between the quote and just the look and feel that were really the essence of what ESPN was bringing to the table back in the day. The pill logo, the color palette, what the set looked like really represents that kind of irreverent nature and the heritage of this company that has now transformed over 45-plus years to the situation where it is now. But obviously you have a starting place and I think tapping into that heritage on both sides was a fun, unique experiment to try to put things together to make sure it makes sense and keeping their shoe true to what it originally was, too. I think that’s always the fine line between the collab, is making sure both sides are represented in a way that feels truly connected to those brands.
It’s ironic that they both came out at the same time.
Right. That was the fun part because like I said, I always look to make sure there’s some sort of thread that you could build on. Once that was established that was kind of a foundation, then building a little bit of storytelling on top of that visually, as well kind of the written form, just makes it even that much more interesting and unique because you had that foundation to build off of that made sense. I think the fact that the shoe is called the Top Ten, throughout our history the “Top Ten” lists has been something that’s been part of our network, and part of our essence so that all kind of really connected the dots to make sure that it made sense, was fun, and interesting.
On the upper there’s a faux snakeskin leather. Was there a certain motive or reason why it was put there?
Any kind of collab, you’re not trying to live totally in the past, right? You want to bring something to the forefront. Just something that’s more forward-thinking. Adidas was very high on trying to do the snakeskin material, or leather, to be the foundation of the shoe to allow it to feel like it’s moving forward. Although it is being blanketed with a retro styling, it still feels like it’s a slightly progressive shoe from that perspective. Even the jewel elements give it a little bit of a forward-thinking feel while the color palette and the old style of the shoe give it the [past] feel. It’s like visually respecting the past, but representing the future. Being aware but then pushing forward a little bit so you’re not just doing something totally old, but you’re combining the two time frames in a way that feels like it makes sense.
Can we look forward to more special projects from ESPN regarding sneakers sometime soon?
We’re constantly having dialogue. Like I said earlier it’s about finding the right match. If we’re going to be in this space, we want to work with partners that have the cachet and the foundation in those areas. Whether it’s footwear or something else to make sure that the partnership really elevates both parties at the same time and the fan can see, whether it’s Scottie [Pippen] and Michael [Jordan] or LeBron and AD, what’s that combination that feels like it’s going to impact as soon as they hear it like, “Oh, that’s cool,” and then bring something new to the marketplace that feels like it represents that partnership in a way that is unique, interesting, and right? I think that’s always the key. So yeah, definitely some stuff we’re talking about hopefully coming down the road. Like I said, we’re being aware of the right combination of things and the right partners to make sure that both sides are getting some added benefit out of that collab.
In sneakers we’re kind of in the collab era where most are being over the top and trying to gain attention, but in this case, I feel like it was done with taste.
I appreciate that. That was the goal, to figure out what that balancing act was. Again, working with the Adidas team on the marketing side and product side was great. We had really good back-and-forth dialogue. Their knowledge of who they are and their foundation and wanting to make sure that it all kind of made sense was a great partnership and that’s why it ended up coming out the way it did. It was a lot of fun, we’re looking forward to some more stuff hopefully in the future.
Is there any athlete that you’d like to see wearing these sneakers?
Rest in peace, huge Kobe fan, but obviously that’s not the conversation. Let’s see, well I’d love for it to be an iconic Adidas athlete. I think that would be great. Patrick Ewing wore them back in the day, a lot of players had the cachet of wearing Adidas shoes. I’d have to really think that one through.
How about Tracy McGrady?
Yeah, T-Mac could be great. To me I would make sure it’s an iconic player that wore Adidas and is represented by that brand vividly. I think it’d be a home run regardless. That’s where I would start. I’d probably go real historical and go back a little bit, like McGrady or something else ‘cause McGrady, I don’t think he’s ever really gotten his dues for as great a player as he was. The fact he wore Adidas was fantastic and that’d be a really cool partnership.
