The Dassler interviews-Callum Hill- END. Senior Collaborations Design Manager

The third in a series of interviews with extremely interesting folk who are doing some brilliant things with adidas.

Going quietly under the radar for adidas has been the release of a new running model called adidas HRMY. This abbreviation is derived from a 90s-era adidas shoe called Harmony, which can not be released now under that name for legal reasons. While several general release colourways have appeared on shelves, it is British-based boutique END. that has been given the first chance to offer a collaborative effort as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations. Loosely based around the concept of British institutions, the corner shop and newsagents paved the background scene for this new launch. Available now exclusively from END., we were extremely honoured to be able to sit down with END. Senior Collaborations Design Manager Callum Hill and ask a few questions about the adidas x END. HRMY ‘Newsagents’.

First, congratulations on 20 years of END. and flying the flag for the North. How proud are you that you got to be the first collaboration of this new silhouette, with this being the very first co-branded iteration of the adidas HRMY?

20 years of END. feels pretty incredible, as someone who was a customer at the store in my teens through to leading the collaborations team, it’s been an incredible personal journey.

Then for END., it has been such a busy 18-24 months getting everything lined up for this year. Firstly, we approached the year in a completely different way when it comes to storytelling and collaborative moments, focusing on British community hubs rather than the usual nicknamed based collabs, giving us a reason to shout about our roots and tell some bigger, longer form stories with more brands.

And as for the HRMY, it’s always a privilege to be the brand tasked with incubating a new silhouette and putting our spin on it before the rest of the world have really even seen it!

What was the brief? How did you approach the project and what was the moodboard and colour boards looking like?

So we first identified the silhouette in a very early pre-line review about 18 months or so ago. At the time there was only one colourway on the wall and a few still in CAD form. We were all drawn to the silhouette as it did something completely different to the army of T-toe terrace styles dominating the walls, as at the time we were still in Samba’s peak!

For this project itself we first started by working out the season we’d be aiming for, meaning it was going to fall into our Corner Shop concept. Then from there we try to work out the story we want to tell, so we can pay homage to both the brand partner and our own seasonal story.

The story we landed on was based around hoax or sensationalised headlines found on tabloid newspapers up and down the UK. And we wanted to have a bit of fun with the idea of END. opening the first ever store on the moon to celebrate our 20th anniversary. So the final product takes inspiration from some of the first every astronaut boots, but with our own twist!

How many rounds of samples did you go through? Did the project flow easily or did you have to keep making alterations?

To be really honest this has to be one of the most straightforward projects we’ve worked on this year. We had a really clear view of how we wanted the product to look, so we were pretty much there in two samples. Making small tweaks between each, then one final sample of the mid sole just to get the colour right.

You are celebrating British institutions, with the Fish Shop BW Army and now the Newsagents HRMY front and centre. Both have similar neutral aesthetics; was that a plan across all the projects?

Yeah, this is something we’ve been focusing on as the market changes. We want to tell great stories but without making product that’s too polarising. So we’ve really drilled into the details and novelty where it’s appropriate rather than on every single product we work on.

Just how comfy are they?

They’re great on foot, I don’t know if you’ve tried a pair yet but you should.

Of course, it's a team effort. Who gets a shout-out for working together and making this shoe a reality?

As always it’s the whole team, my team first and foremost who work on the product Sarah, Monty, Will and Zack, make all of this happen, not just product design but graphics and project management. Then we’re lucky enough to have our inhouse marketing and creative teams do their magic after us.

And last but not least, there is at least a third shoe in collaboration with adidas coming this year, celebrating END. 20.

Any sneak peeks or a clue to what might be coming?

There could still be a few to come before the end of the year! I can’t say too much but we’re playing in a few different lanes. Then we’ve got some really interesting things planned for 2026 so you’ll have to stay tuned!

A massive thank you to Callum for the time and also providing a behind the scenes look at the first round of samples. Enjoy!

They’ll be another in our ‘Interviews‘ series soon.