The Dassler: Number 26- April 2024. Read on for enough three stripe goodness to satisfy the most obsessive adidas fanatic.
Welcome to The Dassler, Twenty-Sixth edition.
Welcome to our forth edition of The Dassler in 2024, the monthly magazine especially written for (and by) adidas lovers.
Thank you for continuing to subscribe to our little corner of adidas heaven.
This publication loves sharing three stripe nuggets of information, that add to the mystique of the adidas legacy.
Sooo-What’s the biggest selling adidas shoe of all time?
Yep you won’t believe it but it’s the adidas ‘I am not a shoe’ Stan Smith, according to adidas’ own figures, as of 2022.
The Dassler comes out on the Third Saturday of each Month-to take your mind off spending all your money on adidas and give you something to do while waiting for the end of the months pay day!
In this edition we have a change in our feature ‘Retro shoe of the month’ (because we love 3 stripe apparel as much as their trainers!)where this month we share a, not quite long forgotten, Tracksuit from the mahoosive adidas back catalogue. Woody continues to write about the first A-ZX release in 2008-Part 2. Craig muses on the adidas influence of the Euros. We share Chris’ (@Covozzy on IG)adidas Top Ten and Craig reviews the latest adidas drops of note, with some Dassler exclusives!
A massive three-striped thank you for subscribing, it takes a lot of hours to research, write, source and edit The Dassler and your support is very much appreciated.
If this is your first visit then we’d highly recommend you run over to the very beginning (obvs wearing a pair of adidas ZX600)to our earlier issues here.
They’ll be news of the adidas annual very soon(again please be patient-it’s a huge designer job to put this together-paid subscribers first as promised) and a couple of surprise guest writers for 2024.
This is a monthly newsletter, that will contain ultra rare deadstock trainers, new adidas releases & brand exclusive information from 3 stripe social media giant Craig (@adifamily_ *X & Insta*), adidas oddments & apparel reminiscences written by Woody (@dadidassler *X* & Insta) plus loads of articles from special guest writers and we have some absolute adidas legends as guest writers lined up!
The Story behind the stripes.
adidas JPN OG Tracksuit
Can a tracksuit made in 2016 and released in 2017 truely be called ‘retro’? Read on to find out why…
Those adidas collectors amongst us, that are connoisseurs of the classic adidas threes striped tracksuit, should recognise the above image of the first commercially available tracksuit or warm up suit. Named in honour of Der Kaiser, the German football wunderkind, Franz Beckenbauer and officially released in 1967.
You may also have often wondered why so many great trackies bore the year of manufacture as 2016 or 2017.
Working out the date you have might have noticed that it was to celebrate the Beckenbauer’s 50th anniversary, to celebrate this adidas Consortium issued a one to one reissue of the above classic Beckenbauer Tracksuit as a limited run of just 100.
You got the zipped track top and the slim cut trackie bottoms with all the original detailing (including zipped pockets), which came in a ‘specially commissioned ‘presentation box, with a card telling the story of the item.
The made in Germany reissue tracksuit sold for an eye-watering £279.
As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, adidas reissued some of its finest moments as very limited edition reissues from the 1970’s and 80’s. Each one numbered and an exact copy of the vintage item in question. Most were manufactured in 2016 but released to coincide with the anniversary in 2017.
So following on from the Beckenbauer tracksuit above came this mid-1970s gem in navy and orange, pictured below. The colours alone should tell you the era and the reason why we have decided to showcase it for our Retro Trackie of the month!
The 2017 release saw the Adidas JPN OG Tracksuit return in Legend Ink and Bold Orange.
Made in Japan (yes you read that right!), it had all the original trims and finishes, a tencel (breathable) and cotton blend fabric, branded YKK zips, jodhpur-style ankle cuffs (70’s kids rejoice!), drawcord waistband and felt logo patches. It also sold in bespoke branded packaging, which is obviously one for the collectors. You know you’re onto a quality piece of kit when your tracksuit comes in a box!
adidas pulled out all the stops on this limited and luxurious reissue of their classic OG 1970s tracksuit. It’s pieces like this that helped first light the adi flames of obsession and is guaranteed to make you, the reader, come over all nostalgic, whilst simultaneously doing Bruce Lee style kung fu kicks round your front room.
Three Stripe branding to the sleeves and legs was the obvious detail and an embroidered linear Trefoil branding in felt, to the left chest and thigh is the finishing touch. Having been crafted from a nice blend of breathable tencel and cotton this gave the tracksuit a comfortable, breathable characteristic.
A final shout has to go to the aforementioned presentation box, a bespoke branded case which the adidas tracksuit collectors amongst us will appreciate no-end and to further this delight, this ‘Made in Japan’ release was only made in a run of 2000 units worldwide.Â
Just a beautiful, beautiful tracksuit and very worthy of its inclusion in this article despite being released less than 10 years ago.
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