Sean Wotherspoon Teases Two Further Upcoming adidas Releases

Sean Wotherspoon is many things: the founder of Round Two, vintage clothing professional as well as a serial collaborator. 

After opening his second vintage streetwear store Round Two in LA in October 2015, alongside two of his friends Chris Russow and Luke Fracher, Wotherspoon was called up by Nike as part of their Air Max Day 2018 campaign to design ‘the future of Air Max’. Inspired by 80s/90s vintage Nike hats, windbreakers and sneakers - the then-store owner created a sneaker that would not only win the competition but go on to become a grail-level sneaker for many collectors and Air Max fans alike thanks to its colour palette, corduroy upper and blending of Air Max 1 and 97. 

However, despite at least two further colourways of the 1/97 being proven to exist, no further releases between the two followed. 

Instead, Wotherspoon took a more free-lance approach to his initial collaborations following his time with the Swoosh. One of the two pairs released during this time in 2020 was with ASICS and atmos on the classic GEL-Lyte 3. Featuring a similar all-over corduroy construction, the GEL-Lyte 3 was once again a one-off special project between the parties involved. 

However, the second release that year came in the form of the adidas Superstar, coined ‘Superearth’. Wotherspoon created a sneaker that was inspired by upcycling and thrift store hunting. Using a range of recycled materials, the project was the catalyst that kickstarted the duo's long-term partnership that has since spanned a range of old-school silhouettes including the ZX 8000, EQT Support 93 and Hoverturf. 

Alongside his recent work with the likes of Vespa and Porsche, it appears that Wotherspoon is cooking up not one, but two new sneakers with adidas. Posting on Instagram last week, the store-owner turned designer and adidas partner showcased our first look at his SW x adidas Gazelle. 

At first glance, the sneaker follows in the same vein as Wotherspoon's previous adidas releases utilising a bright colour palette throughout the upper. Once again returning to corduroy, the upper includes a cartoon floral finish along with recycled cork insoles. Velour heel panels are seen on the back of the sneaker with the signature SW logo imprinted in the middle. 

At the time of writing this, these images are the first details we have as to what the collaboration will bring. However, with the rising popularity of the Gazelle silhouette following the recent Wales Bonner and Gucci partnerships, Wotherspoon could be onto a winner.

However, the releases don’t stop there. Every time Sean Wotherspoon posts a picture, fans are quick to check what’s on his feet. On Tuesday, the designer posted two images with keen viewers almost instantly recognising that there was yet another reveal. 

On feet, appear to be the adidas Orketro. A brand new silhouette for 2022 that seems to take inspiration from 90s performance running sneakers similar to the New Balance 990V3 or 2002 with similar overlays to Kiko Kostadinov‘s work with ASICS. However, while the GR colourways are set to be more monochromatic in appearance, the SW variant promises to provide a bright colour spectrum. 

While little is currently known about both the Sean Wotherspoon Gazelle and Orketro, the two promise to be refreshing takes on more classic styles in comparison to the recent performance-based silhouettes. 

For the latest on Sean Wotherspoon and adidas, keep it Kick Game.