Neighborhood x adidas Campus 80s

• MODEL: ADIDAS CAMPUS 80S
• SERIES: ADIDAS ORIGINALS BY ORIGINALS
• TYPE: BASKETBALL
• DESIGNED BY: Neighborhood
• MADE IN: VIETNAM
• MADE ON: 12/08
• ART.NO: G15365

adidas Originals by Originals (ObyO) hooked up with Japanese biker brand Neighborhood (aka NBHD) to design this casually fresh pair of unreleased Campus 80s.

The shoe was built for Neighborhood’s flagship New York store, but because of unknown circumstances that store didn’t opened, making them a rare piece that never hit the shelves for public purchase.

Going in the tradition of adidas Campus 80s, the shoe is minimal in its design but has splashes of Neighborhood’s style. One of Tokyo’s freshest street wear brands, NBHD was started in 1994 in Harajuku, Tokyo, by Shinsuke Takizawa (aka Takishin), a Japanese designer who lived and breathed motorcycles. He started the brand for the niche but hardcore motorcycle counter-culture that he was apart of in Tokyo, developing clothing inspired by a mix of biker, military, and outdoor styles. This explains the skull and cross bones on the tongue, a symbol of Neighborhood’s biker branding.

The coloring is sleek, with the blue suede running across the entire shoe only broken by the white detailing, including the trademark three stripes on the sides. The electric blue suede gives it a high-end look, aligning it with Japanese streetwear yet the boxed toe almost makes it look like a boot. The rim of the lining is leather, making it one hell of a comfy shoe to rock and the pull-tab on the heel makes easy to slip on.

What’s also interesting is that the logo of long-running adidas collaborator Kazuki Kuraishi (KzK) is marked on the sockliner, making this shoe a tri-collaboration between adidas Originals, Neighborhood, and KzK, all under the ObyO series umbrella. Actually, after doing some deeper research, it seems that KzK and Takishin are good friends, with KzK naming the Neighborhood owner as one of his biggest influencers. So that very well could be the reason adidas and Neighborhood hooked up in the first place.

Another thing that can’t be missed is the ‘NY CAMPUS’ print on the side; symbolizing that the shoe was built to be sold in New York, or at the very least representative of the infamous city. The shoe definitely has the look of a Japanese designed shoe for the American market, and the swash of the blue suede gives it an urban style matching the styles of both cities combined.

written by Alex Kralikas

photography by errol