HUMAN RACE: WHEN ADIDAS MEETS PHARREL
Pharrell Williams, a visionary and inspired jack-of-all-trades
Rapper, singer, songwriter, artistic director, entrepreneur, designer... Pharrell Williams plays on all the boards!
A key figure in the bands The Neptunes and N.E.R.D., the Virginia native has been noticed since his early days, both for his music and for his unique style, which blends streetwear and high fashion influences.
In 2005, he was voted the "best-dressed man in the world" by American magazine Esquire, and in 2014, he featured prominently on Vanity Fair's list of best-dressed celebrities. But far from being content with his role as a fashion icon, Pharrell is going further and moving to the designer side himself.
The rapper co-founded his own brands - Billionaire Boys Club, in collaboration with Nigo, founder of Bape, and Ice Cream Footwear -, opened a boutique in New York and made a string of prestigious collaborations: Bape, Louis Vuitton, G-Star Raw, Uniqlo, Moncler... and of course Adidas.
Human Race, the iconic collab between Adidas and Pharrell Williams
The year 2014 marks the beginning of the collaboration between the rapper and the brand with 3 stripes. After several successful releases, Adidas and Pharrell launched the Human Race line in 2016.
With Human Race a.k.a. Hu, Pharrell Williams aims to offer collections celebrating human diversity. If the collaboration mainly revolves around the footwear universe, the rapper also imagines ready-to-wear lines (hoodies, jogging suits, t-shirts, shorts, bras...). The N.E.R.D leader revisits the jerseys of emblematic football teams sponsored by Adidas (Bayern Munich, Juventus of Turin, Real Madrid, Manchester United...).
The NMD Human Race
If we had to summarize the collaboration between Pharrell Williams and Adidas in one word: NMD undeniably.
Since 2016, the rapper has revisited the iconic Adidas sneaker so many times that one no longer goes without the other! While he first tackled the Stan Smith and Superstar, the NMD soon became the Virginia native's signature model.
After a first edition released in July 2016 (the Yellow NMD Human Race), the media releases follow one another in limited edition. The NMD Human Race are rare: collectors are snatching them up and prices are skyrocketing... Pharrell Williams enters the sneaker pantheon!
Limited editions and collaborations
Inspired and inspiring, the NMD Human Race collections all help promote the rapper's philosophy of supporting diversity around the world.
The rapper has also taken a little trip around the world with collections celebrating various cultures: the American Indians with the very first collection signed Hu, then India with the NMD Holi collection, but also China, or even the Afro-American culture with the NMD Human Race Afro Pack.
Pharrell Williams also puts women in the spotlight with four models called "Now Is Her Time" and dedicated to women.
The leader of N.E.R.D. also offers some very nice collaborations. The NMD Human Race x Human Made pair, released as a limited edition, quickly became a must-have for collectors. The rapper has also teamed up with Chanel for an ultra-media drop: the Chanel x Human Race are limited to 500 copies and can only be copied at the luxury Colette concept store in Paris at a retail price of €1000.
How do the NMD Human Race fit?
As a general rule, the Human Race NMDs don't fit particularly big or small, so you can start with your usual size.
