A HISTORY OF ADIDAS AND YOHJI YAMAMOTO’S Y-3

A pillar of the contemporary streetwear landscape, Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto’s adidas collaboration, Y-3, has spent close to 25 years refining their craft and cultivating a truly influential collaboration. Borne in an era where collaborations were not as commonplace as they are now, adidas and Yamamoto’s union celebrated the avant-garde designer’s uncompromising creative vision, delivered through the sportswear lens of the German giants.

Established in 2002 with the Spring/Summer ’03 collection, Yamamoto’s desire to design sportswear appeared in the late ‘90s as he yearned for a return to designing clothes that could be easily worn on the street. Echoing the driving force behind his original creations under his eponymous line that plucked inspiration from the workwear of late 1970’s Japan, his vision for what would become Y-3 was indebted to Yamamoto’s interest in sneakers and sports fashion. Having pitched the idea to Nike, who declined, Yamamoto turned to Europe, calling on adidas, who readily accepted his invitation to collaborate. Unusual at the time, Y-3 represented the dawning of a new era, where sportswear and high-fashion could successfully merge to create an entirely new manifestation of modern style.

A true interpolation of both Yohji Yamamoto and adidas’ design language, the name of the brand reflects this equal union: “Y” for Yohji Yamamoto and “3” for the three stripes synonymous with the sportswear brand. Creating a harmonious vision for progressive sportswear from the outset, Y-3 offered a sophisticated take on classic adidas style, transformed through Yamamoto’s monochrome palette with oversized silhouettes and a penchant for unconventional materials. Transposing the elements commonly associated with his namesake brand, Yamamoto’s design language seamlessly transferred onto the sportswear framework, capturing the hearts and minds of design focussed fashion fans who preferred the sportier sensibility of Y-3 to the elegance of Yohji Yamamoto clothing.

Offering progressive twists on classic adidas styles, such as track jackets, raincoats, jersey and accessories, Y-3’s footwear was the jewel in the crown of the iconoclastic brand. From 2003’s Platform Sandal that blended traditional Japanese wedge sandals with sportswear design to the cult Qasa High sneaker in 2013, an icon of mid-2010s streetwear aesthetics, Y-3’s footwear continually put the brand on the map for their cutting-edge style. The A3 Control sneaker, as seen in the upcoming END. x Y-3 collaborative 'Emerald' collection, is a fan favourite. First appearing in 2002, before Y-3 was officially named and the collaboration manifested as adidas & Yohji Yamamoto, the sneaker was strictly limited to 103 pairs, stemming from Yamamoto's birthday: October 3rd. Highlighting the designer's deeply personal relationship to his designs, the A3 Control sneaker saw the designer instigate his collaboration with adidas with this approach always in mind.

While Yamamoto’s signature colour palette and silhouette sits at the core of the brand, adidas’ DNA runs just as strongly through Y-3’s products. The Herzogenaurach-based brand’s instantly recognisable three stripes are used liberally throughout Y-3’s collections, albeit in a subverted manner. Rendered in mesh, restricted to one sleeve or applied tonally, the three stripes remain a core component of Y-3’s outlook – a symbol of performance excellence, speed and motion, infused into Yamamoto’s striking world of the avant garde.

Looking back over the past 23 years, it’s clear that Y-3’s impact cannot be underestimated. Channelling everything that has made adidas a sportswear monolith, but filtered through the sophisticated lens of Yamamoto, has delivered a brand that assuredly and consistently offers a bold twist on sportswear that feels progressive yet eternal all at once.

The END. x Y-3 ‘Emerald’ collection will launch online via END. Launches on Friday 4th July 2025.