Summary
- Wales Bonner has collaborated with adidas Originals on a collection celebrating basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, featuring a redesigned WB Jabbar sneaker with a suede upper and crocodile-embossed leather stripes.
- The collection, which includes a retro apparel capsule with striped tube socks and a jersey, launches on September 8.
Wales Bonner‘s adidas Originals collaboration expands with the addition of a new capsule celebrating the legacy of basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who inked one of the sport’s first signature sneakers with the adidas Jabbar.
Accompanied by a retro apparel capsule, the reimagined WB Jabbar tweaks the original design with a fully suede upper and technicolor stripes made from crocodile-embossed leather — a signature of the British menswear designer. The new pair is completed with a gold foil sky hook detail on the tongue and a Wales Bonner wordmark near the heel.
Jabbar’s on-court “sky hook” move is reprised as a logo motif in the apparel, including a yellow jersey with green accents. Elsewhere, an elegant white track jacket with a striped collar and cuffs features a tonal adidas Originals emblem. The collection is topped off with striped tube socks feature colors reminiscent of Abdul-Jabbar’s two professional teams, the Milwaukee Bucks (1969-1975) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1989).
From collaborating wth the Black Image Corporation to being named a co-host for the 2025 Met Gala, ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,’ Wales Bonner has maintained a strong historical perspective, often drawing on figures and stories related to Black history. Modeled by Jecardi Sykes, the campaign shot by Oliver Hadlee Pearch embodies the spirit of Jabbar in his heyday with references to his sports career, as well as acting. In a special short film marking the launch, the images are cut with archival clips and Jabbar’s quote, paying homage to Abdul-Jabbar’s cross-cultural legacy.
With models like the Taekwondo, Japan, Samba, and Superstar getting recent refreshes, adidas continues to ride the archival wave with various remixes and limited editions. The Jabbar has served as the center of several 2025 collaborations, including the Willy Chavarria x adidas Jabbar Dress Lo and the Bruce Lee x adidas Jabbar Lo “Game of Death.”
The adidas Originals by Wales Bonner Jabbar collection is set for release on September 8 at the adidas website, the Confirmed app, and select retailers.
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