How an Iconic Bridge in Cincinnati Inspired One of Unheardof’s Most Personal Adidas Collabs Yet
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Philip Lipschutz is ready to share the third chapter of his story.
Joining forces with Adidas for the first time in 2023, Lipschutz, founder of Cincinnati-based sneaker boutique Unheardof, delivered two of the year’s most compelling collaborations, both of which reimagined the Rivalry Low silhouette.
The first, which debuted in June, featured the poetry of his late sister, Erika Deuschle, who sadly committed suicide in 2005. He followed in November with “Grandma’s Couch,” an act of gratitude for his beloved grandmother, Naomi Phillips.
Using Adidas’ signature Three Stripes as a vehicle to share the stories of three women, Lipschutz opted for a more figurative approach for the third. The latest collaborative look is a tribute to his adopted home, Cincinnati, also known as the Queen City.
The result is the Unheardof x Adidas Rivalry Low “Building Bridges.”
‘Dear Brooklyn, You’re Welcome’
At the start of the month, Lipschutz and his content team from Cincinnati traveled to New York City to tease the upcoming Adidas collaboration. Promotional posters were wheatpasted throughout the city, and a billboard was posted on South Street.
The imagery included the shoe, as well as the words, “Dear Brooklyn, You’re Welcome.” They also featured the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, which connects Cincinnati with Covington, Ky.
Though the connection might not be immediately apparent, the ties between the Cincinnati bridge and Brooklyn are strong. Roebling, a designer and builder of wire rope suspension bridges, completed his project in Cincinnati in 1867, which would then serve as a prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge.
Growing up in a broken home in Latonia, a neighborhood in Covington, the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge was a symbol of hope for Lipschutz, and a portal to a new and better world.
“I’ve seen so much negativity and ugliness in life, and when we skated down the street and up to the bridge and I saw it for the first time, it blew me away how beautiful it was,” Lipschutz said. “I definitely wasn’t in school learning about it because I was skipping school everyday skateboarding, but as soon as I rolled up and saw that bridge, it changed my life forever.”
He continued, “Everybody loves this Brooklyn Bridge, but if they knew about the Roebling bridge, I feel like they would love that, too.”
Aside from his beloved bridge, New York holds a special place with Lipschutz, in part to his first “Erika’s Poem” Rivalry Low collaboration. To promote the shoe, which featured her poetry on the uppers, he wheatpasted posters that also included her words throughout the city.
“I wanted to put her artwork all over New York City because I spent the last 12 or 13 years studying why people go to New York and put their artwork up, why small rock bars will have Bob Dylan or Van Halen show up for a set,” Unheardof said. “I wanted people to read Erika’s poetry in a really organic, unique way that no one has seen in marketing. I also wanted to show brands that I could prove that Cincinnati was special.”
The reception from the Big Apple, as described by Lipschutz, was incredible.
“I felt the love and embrace of real, true New Yorkers, those that didn’t move there from Idaho or Nashville,” Lipschutz said with a laugh. “The people that were born and bred, New York or die, came up to me and told me how beautiful her words are and how amazing the shoes are.”
Children’s Story
For his third Adidas collaboration, in addition to honoring the bridge that led him to a better life, Lipschutz wanted to connect another place near and dear to him: the Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky.
“The [patients there] have behavioral health issues, mental health issues. They’re just kids that are constantly being told you’ve got a zero percent chance at life, which is what people basically told me growing up,” Lipschutz said of kids at the home, which sits on a hill with a clear view of the bridge. “I want to bring them along some way, some how. Tell them the truth. Tell them hard work pays off, you really got to bust your a–.”
Lipschutz’s first experience at the home came at the age of three when his mother, Marcia Wehrman-Deuschle, who he said had a litany of mental health and drug-related issues, dropped him off at the door during a manic episode. Eventually, she and his grandmother would pick him back up. Before they arrived, workers at the home helped calm him down.
In the years since, Lipschutz and Unheardof has provided shoes to the home, and every year they throw a Halloween party for the patients. And interestingly, he’s also asked them to help with the designs of his collaborations.
“When I did Erika’s shoe, I brought all the kids from the Children’s Home to her art show that we put on at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. I told them if they helped me design a shoe that I would make it. This is the shoe for them,” he said. “I gave them all like blank shoe templates, a bunch of colored pencils and Sharpies and paint. I asked them if you could design a shoe, what would it mean? They started telling tons of stories.”
He continued, “Their counselors said this is the most they’ve ever opened up. I still stay in contact with some of those kids and counselors.”
Lipschutz said proceeds of this collaboration’s release will go to the Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky, which will also be given 200 pairs of shoes, so that not only will every kid currently there have a pair, but kids who will be there in the future will have one as well.
Long Live the Queen
Unheardof’s third chapter with Adidas is replete with nods to the John A. Roebling Bridge and the area around it.
This can be seen in the uppers, which resemble the stones that were used to construct the landmark, including the Buena Vista freestone that was cut from a hillside 70 miles east. Plus, the blue suede on the Three Stripes branding was used as a nod to the Roebling Blue hue of the bridge, and the translucent foam green outsole was employed to resemble the Ohio River that the structure crosses. Finally, the Adidas logo on the tongue resembles the shape of the Ohio flag.
On top of all this, the collab also introduces a new character, Captain Piggy, which is inspired by steamboat captains (and also serves as a nod to Cincinnati’s pork industry history). The character appears on the heel, the insoles (skateboarding on the Serpentine Wall, a favorite Cincinnati skate spot of Lipschutz as a kid) and the hangtag.
“Because of my appearance and the clothes I wore and the shoes I had, the first nickname I was given was ‘Pork Chop.’ I’ve never forgotten what that’s like to constantly be called a name every day and go to school and being told your shoes suck or you dress bad,” Lipschutz said. “Captain Piggy symbolizes all of us who were told you can’t do it, those that are being made fun of, and now we’re the captain of the boat.”
The Unheardof x Adidas Rivalry Low “Building Bridges” collaboration arrives Oct. 25 via Unheardofbrand.com, and is limited to 1,000 pairs. It will retail for $165.
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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