From sportscars to sportswear: Adidas by Porsche Design

Porsche takes a decidedly conservative route in restyling its cars – it takes a trained eye to tell one generation 911 from the next. That's left Porsche designers with a little extra time on their hands, so after designing a line of clothing and accessories for Martini, they've teamed up with Adidas for a line of sportswear. The product of the partnership between the two German companies is Porsche Design Sport.

Their first collection consists of four ranges, each catered toward a different type of activity: driving, golf, running and tennis. Driving makes sense. Meanwhile, judging by the parking lot at the local country club, lots of Porsche drivers probably play golf. And the rest surely play tennis. The running is beyond us, though. (You'd figure they'd have a Soccer-Mom line for Cayenne drivers, too.)

[Source: Adidas]

As a sports equipment automotive news blog, naturally what interests us (and by extension, you) the most is the line of driving gear. It includes driving shoes (which Porsche claims were tested by factory test drivers), a cashmere-blend honeycomb-pattern zip sweater, stretch khakis with a handy cargo pocket, the requisite white polo and a handy weekend duffel. The golf collection, meanwhile, actually includes clubs (co-branded with TaylorMade, a subsidiary of Adidas), the tennis collection includes a racquet and, naturally, the running collection includes running shoes.

This isn't the first such partnership between an automotive design house and a sportswear/shoe company: Pininfarina similarly teamed up with Fila for some unique shoes a few years back. Adidas meanwhile previously teamed up with Goodyear, who provided the rubber souls for a special line of shoes. It is by far the most complete, though: Porsche and Adidas have teamed up to produce some nice gear that would likely make a welcome addition to anyone's wardrobe, whether you're into the occasional tennis match, nine holes of golf, jog around the neighborhood or Sunday drive. Their first collection, Spring/Summer 2007, was just released last month in the United States and in other select markets.

PRESS RELEASE

Herzogenaurach/Bietigheim-Bissingen - May 31, 2006

Spring/Summer 2007 Porsche Design Sport Collection

In Spring/Summer 2007 Porsche Design and adidas introduce an innovative hi-tech sport and design orientated sport performance collection for men. The objective of the long-term cooperation is to jointly establish a hi-tech premium brand in the sports sector. The first Porsche Design Sport product line highlights four sport categories: Driving, Running, Golf and Tennis. Sophisticated footwear, apparel, accessories and hardware embody the fusion of high-functionality, uncompromising engineering quality and striking design. Representing the long-term partnership of the two brands, the range is recognizable by the Porsche Design and adidas or TaylorMade co-branding.

Paying tribute to the unique fusion of design and sport performance, the complete collection is characteristic by luxury, yet fully functional materials and proven high-class technologies. Prestigious fabrics such as jacquard, lycra, microfiber and cashmere enable extra soft touch, stability of shape and long lasting wind and water resistance. To meet comfort for the specific sport activities, technologies like Coolmax®, 3XDRY® and c-change® offer moisture management at its highest levels ensuring an optimum body climate. In addition the adidas technology Formotion™ provides enhanced freedom of movement and performance.

Key footwear styles of the Spring/Summer 2007 collection include the exclusive nubuk leather Driving Shoe that meets the needs of the ambitious driver. The asymmetrical design of the outsole ensures a perfect grip and feeling. A specific heel construction promises best comfort and protection during the ride. Fully sports functional through the Formotion™ technology, the Running Shoe features a rich full grain leather upper with specific ventilation perforation.

Apparel highlight styles include the Convertible Rain Jacket that can be transformed to a vest and the Rain Pant 2nd Layer. Featuring the c-change® technology both pieces assure an optimum body climate and protection against wind and rain.

The Golf Putter and Tennis Racket symbolize the key hardware items of the Spring/Summer 2007 line. The putter enhances the game of ambitious golfers by using the latest material, fitting know how and a new movable weight technology that enables flight path variations by changeable weights within the head of the club. The construction and modern design of the full carbon racket provides the ideal combination of power, control and comfort.

The color palette of the first Porsche Design Sport collection constitutes of black, white, metallic grey titan, red and blue – alone or mixed together in elegant combinations.

The Porsche Design Sport collection will hit retail exclusively in December 2006. At this time the collection will be available in adidas Sport Performance concept stores and Porsche Design stores worldwide. By January 15, 2007 the range can be purchased in high-end stores in six selected markets: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, US and Asia.

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The adidas Group is one of the global leaders in the sporting goods industry offering a wide range of products around the three core segments adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has approximately 25,000 employees worldwide and generates sales of about € 9.5 billion.

Porsche Design is a global luxury men's brand and is determined by engineered products. Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche established the Porsche Design brand in 1972, whose products are attracting consumers with their technical innovation and represent functionality and timelessness in its purest form. Porsche Design products are sold in exclusive own retail and franchise stores, shop-in-shops in up-market department stores and exclusive specialist stores.