THE JOURNAL
Wales Bonner likes to do its research. Since it was founded back in 2014, the label has released collections inspired by the dual British-Jamaican heritage and of its founder Ms Grace Wales Bonner, as well as critical theory, literature and history. Wales Bonner’s designs have a scholarly aspect woven into them, which makes its ongoing collaboration with adidas, a sporting brand with a rich legacy of its own, a particularly fitting one.
If that all sounds a bit too academic, don’t worry: this three-part collaboration has always worn its research lightly. The first in the trilogy, and part of the Wales Bonner’s autumn/winter 2020 collection, Lovers Rock, was a celebration of the British-Jamaican community in London. Essence, for SS21, explored the origins of dancehall music in 1980s Jamaica. Throughout, Wales Bonner has worked closely with the adidas research team, mining its archives to pore over the brand’s long history. With Essence, for example, the collection delved into how dancehall musicians donned the label in the 1980s.
For its final part, Wales Bonner heads to the library for direct inspiration. The AW21 collection, called Black Sunlight, is inspired by the scholars, poets and artists from the Caribbean, India and West Africa whose work advanced postcolonial discourse across the globe. As such, it is a celebration of progressive thinkers of the 1980s.
The results are suitably thoughtful, weaving Wales Bonner’s distinctive outlook through adidas’ heritage in iconic sportswear and accessories. The classic three-stripe adidas Originals tracksuit forms the cornerstone of Black Sunlight, in a glorious callback to the era. The academic inspiration is studiously observed in collegiate graphics on T-shirts, while a celebratory, school’s-out mood prevails in sun hats, tees, anoraks and pants in vivid colours and 1980s-inspired silhouettes. The result is a collection that is both similar to fans of the iconic sportswear brand while embracing a soulful new perspective.
The scholarly aspect of working with adidas Originals was also appealing to Grace Wales Bonner. “I’m always really drawn to brands that have a specific heritage – classicism, in a way,” she told PORTER about the collaboration. “When I create something, what I try to do is a meeting point between two worlds. I like that [adidas] really honours its history. I was really connected with that way of looking at the past and also looking at how other cultures have appropriated and interpreted things differently.”
In this interpretation, Wales Bonner forges an elevated take on archival adidas style. Black Sunlight also takes the adidas Japan silhouette and reimagines it in vibrant new ways. The WB Japan sneaker is available in four fresh colourways, each differentiated by material – leather, nylon and suede uppers with contrasting details throughout – and embossed with Wales Bonner’s gold-foil branding.
Change and growth have been constant themes for Wales Bonner throughout the collaboration. The brand teams up with the similarly minded in this regard, such as photographer Mr Tyler Mitchell, famous for shooting Beyoncé for the cover of US Vogue, who captures the collection’s themes of brotherhood and nostalgia in the campaign shoot. Meanwhile, adidas offered its pioneering expertise to help bring the vision to fruition. “The original intention of what something is gets transformed,” Wales Bonner said. “Finding partners that can help you expand your vision and create something that is accessible is really important.” And the final grade on this project? It’s full marks from us.