How Bad Bunny’s New Leo Messi Adidas Collab Showcases the Hitmaker’s Evolving Designs
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Though Bad Bunny and Leo Messi are modern superstars, their collaborative collection with Adidas is inspired by products of times past.
On Monday, after leaks circulated on social media, Adidas has revealed the highly-anticipated upcoming project between the hitmaker and the soccer icon. The collection is inspired from Adidas heritage models, materials and colorways, and features two silhouettes: the Gazelle, a favorite of Bad Bunny, and the F50 cleat, which Messi has long worn on the pitch.
Both silhouettes include Bad Bunny and Messi’s signatures on the Three Stripe branding, which Adidas said symbolizes “their mutual respect and enduring legacy,” as well as the inscription “Bad Bunny Para Messi” on the tongue. Also, they feature both the brand’s Trefoil and Badge of Sport logos.
Adidas also employed gold hues, which serve as a nod to the Ballon d’Or, the award given to soccer’s best player that Messi has won several times, as well as an “X” stripe heel that references his No. 10 jersey number.
“Messi’s last name has become its own word, a synonym for greatness, courage and heart,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “Watching him play with the passion he does is a privilege. I compare the love he feels for his country and his sport to the love I feel for music and Puerto Rico. Collaborating with him is an honor that so many people dream of and I never even imagined I could achieve it. Today, I feel so grateful to be able to represent our culture with the GOAT.”
Speaking with FN, design director of Adidas collaborations and partnerships Raf Mayorga — who is the design director for the Bad Bunny partnership — offered insight into the packaging the collaboration will come in.
“When we went to the archive with the Bunny team last year, there’s an archive for even our boxes. Everything is archived,” Mayorga told FN. “We saw this beautiful box from the ’60s or ’70s that had Adidas punched out on the side and thought that’s a cool detail to bring into our new packaging approach. And all of the apparel are hung in these really cool Tyvek bags. So how do we bring the archive to the consumer? To the Bad Bunny fan? That’s why there’s his interpretation of a Tyvek bag in the in the packaging, as a hint to the archive.”
Adidas is opening sign-ups to purchase the collection on Oct. 21 via the Confirmed and Adidas apps, and it will be available in Adidas flagship stores on Oct. 26.
New Design Language
Teaming up with Messi isn’t the lone reason Bad Bunny’s latest collaboration with Adidas looks a bit different. In fact, the artist’s past few collabs have offered fans a glimpse at what future projects with the Three Stripes will look like.
“As Benito’s music continues to evolve, his level of artistry gets pushed in different directions, and we’re there to capture his voice with where he’s going creatively. Ultimately, it boils down to he’s evolving, so we evolve as well,” Mayorga explained. “What he wants to say, the stories he wants to shine a light on through his music, through his craft, we do the same on the footwear side.”
This includes, according to Mayorga, the reduced use of the eyeball on the collaborations and the phasing out of the bunny logo. Instead, Bad Bunny is opting for “cleaner” identifiers, such as a wordmark.
The wordmark approach was first seen in June, when “Gazelle” was replaced with “San Juan” on the lateral side of the tonal blue Gazelle Indoor “San Juan” collaboration, and then again in September when “Benito” replaced “Gazelle” on the off-white iteration of the shoe.
“We are keeping some of the design markers, the double tongue and things like that, and flipping things and putting things where they shouldn’t be,” Mayorga said. “And we have a few little hidden features on the shoe. We have an updated bandera label, as we’re calling it, on the top tongue. Also, when we take an existing Adidas element of the shoe, we flip it and try to give it a new context. It’s the subtleties that we that we look for. There are little twists and turns to the product that hint at the Bad Bunny partnership.”
Although he stated there’s not much he could share about upcoming Bad Bunny collaborations, Mayorga offered a few hints as to what potentially could be ahead for 2025.
“What you’ll probably see are his fingerprints and his twist on things without actually showing you. You’ll see us going into different categories and things that are more disruptive and really are genuine and authentic to him,” Mayorga said. “That’s the beauty of working with a partner like Benito. You can authentically touch different spaces and contribute to those categories, whether it’s running or any other sport. You have the opportunity to do it in a new way.”
About the Author
Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at [email protected].
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