We talked with the Adidas designer behind the year's coolest sneaker about his collaboration with Kanye West

NMD_HeroShot_S79168_HeelDynamic_CF_300
The adidas NMD. adidas Group

Adidas closed out 2015 with the release of the NMD, a silhouette that takes old school design elements — check out those chunky blocks — and recombines them in a way that's strikingly fresh. 

Advertisement

Sneakerheads embraced the first run. After selling out in retail, they're going for between $300 and $400 on eBay. They arrived at the right cultural moment: "athleisure" has become the number one trend in apparel, and the NMD takes that trend in a street-smart direction. 

More variants of the NMD will drop throughout 2016.

We emailed with Nic Galway, Adidas's vice president of Global Design and designer behind the NMD, about where the sneaker came from, where Adidas is going, and his collaboration with a certain rapper-turned-designer.

Advertisement

One of the first things you notice about the NMD is the 'blocking' on the sides of the outsole.

NMD_HeroShot_S79168_NaturalPair_CF_300
adidas Group

The blocks stabilize the foot while also looking super cool. 

"I think it's important to couple technology and innovation with something familiar because it gives a design a context and something the wearer can connect with," Galway tells Tech Insider. 

"The future doesn't necessarily have to be 'futuristic,'" Galway says.

NMD_S79168_Black_Anatomic_Parts_on_Hold_CF_300
adidas Group
Advertisement

'We talk a lot about collective memory at Adidas,' Galway says.

The NMD brings back elements from running shoes that first got big when the 1980s were grasping at the future, like the adidas Micro Pacer (which originally had a built-in pedometer!) and the Boston Super. 

A photo posted by Rom@n (@the_capn_)

 

Advertisement
Advertisement

At Adidas, it's not about sketching designs. It's about building them.

nic galway web
adidas Group

"I think designers can sometimes get hung up on perfecting drawings and getting lost in the details," Galway says. "Sketching is important, but I always encourage my design team to sit down and physically make things – what I call design studies."

Galways says that he uses the midsole or another part of the shoe to start building a model, sometimes using materials offcut from other designs, from the hardware store, or from the trash bin in the office.

DSC_12162 (2)
A "Design Study" for what would become the base for the #/3 f15 set within the adidas Originals Statement Collection. adidas Group
Advertisement

"Through doing this you can work in three dimensions and really get an understanding of the shoe from all angles and discover design elements which would never be possible through sketching alone," he says.

416285
That Design Study would lead to the EQT 3/3 f15 PK. adidas Group
Advertisement

Galway's most famous collaboration is with the rapper-designer-auteur Kanye West.

knaye yeezy kim
Jason Kempin / Getty

West moved from Nike to Adidas in 2013

His line of Yeezy Boosts are the darlings of the sneaker world, selling out in minutes and going for thousands of dollars in the secondary market. They've helped elevate the Boost as a brand unto itself, like the Nike Free and Nike Air before it. 

"The thing that many people fail to realize about him however is what a hard worker [Kanye] is," Galways says. He is 100% committed to the project and when we are together we will often work through the night making things and working through ideas." 

"Kanye is a person who has a very distinct idea of what he wants to create and achieve with a design. " he says. "At times this can be challenging but as a brand we like to be challenged and to design without compromise. Working with him is a terrific honor." 

Like Kanye has said, sweatshirts are important because they're super comfortable and look great. It's the same with sneakers.

Advertisement

The next NMDs — in a super-minimal monochromatic build called the NMD_R1 — will drop on January 30.

S79478_PRFTWSTBTY_FI.JPG
adidas Group
Kanye West Sneakers Fashion
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.