adidas Tubular Doom Primeknit Men's Sneakers

Product Information

There’s never been a one-to-one retro but the influence is clear, for example the Tubular 2 has heavily influenced the Tubular 93. The design he came up with was comprised of two densities of moulded EVA, in a tube-like shape that was wrapped around the sole – combining targeted support and cushioning. The second gen Tubular range now makes up a huge portion of the adidas Originals offering, with a wide variety of styles, as well as multiple variations of the tube-shaped EVA sole.

From time to time concepts can stray a little too far into the future, resulting in ideas that the world is not yet ready for – such are the perils of the visionary. But all was not lost, two decades after its disappearance designer Nic Galway was wandering the archives at Three Stripe central when he happened upon the OG Radical. In 2013 the market wasn’t oriented around technical silhouettes like it had been in the mid-90s, so Galway decided to strip back the Tubular to its core. Originals released the Adidas Tubular in 1993, however it was deemed too ahead of its time with its futuristic aesthetic and shelved after only two years.

It’s up to them to integrate cutting edge know-how into new styles while staying one step ahead of present trends. It was made in a way that wasn’t previously possible, but stood up to the vision that the designers had in the 90s.

It wasn’t so much the technical features that got him thinking, but more the concept that the designers had been working with – the prototypes and the thought processes they illustrated.A discovery deep within the adidas archive had motivated adidas Originals’ VP of global design Nic Galway to revive the Tubular name, as well as the ambitious design ideals that kicked off the project almost three decades earlier. More recent additions to the line incorporate elements of the old designs into ultra-modern concepts – like the Tubular Doom which pairs an old-school lacing structure with cutting edge knitted construction. It appeared on the Y-3 Qasa in early 2013, before appearing in the adidas mainline just over a year later. The concept behind the design was born from the ongoing quest for superior cushioning that could give athletes that little extra kick that might shave a fraction of a second from their best times.

They were cobbled together using parts from the Equipment series, with a Torsionbar and some industrial looking connectors. From its roots as a DIY-style fanzine to today’s global coverage, its pages have documented every colab, custom, limited edition, retro reissue, Quickstrike, Hyperstrike and Tier Zero sneaker released over the last two decades.

Instead of focussing on the engineering, the sole reimagined the concept with new methods of production. It was offered as the lightweight option, without the inbuilt mechanics, but only had two adjustable air bags in the heel and a forefoot that was cushioned with EVA foam. The design process had focussed on the overall form of the shoe, with materials chosen to fit the sculpted last and contribute to a dynamic look. In essence, they were thinking too far ahead, the Tube was the future but the collective mindset was yet to catch up. The idea resonated with Y-3 designer Yohji Yamamoto, so he and Galway came up with the Qasa – not strictly a Tubular but a hugely successful silhouette nonetheless.