Adidas is getting a romantic fashion makeover, and Simone Rocha is behind it. The Irish designer has taken the sportswear giant's familiar Three Stripes and softened them with ballet-inspired silhouettes, ribbons, pearls, diamanté, tulle and broderie anglaise for a collaboration that makes traditional Adidas pieces feel surprisingly feminine.
The first Adidas Originals by Simone Rocha collection launches globally on 10 September 2026, bringing together footwear, clothing and accessories for the autumn/winter 2026 season. First revealed during Rocha's London Fashion Week show in February, the collection marks the beginning of an ongoing partnership between the designer and Adidas Originals.
Rather than simply stamping her name on existing Adidas styles, Rocha has reworked the brand's sporting classics through her own romantic design language. The result is a wardrobe that sits somewhere between the football pitch, ballet studio and fashion week street style.
The Ballerina Gets the Three Stripes Treatment
The standout footwear piece is the SR Taekwondo Ballerina, which takes the familiar Adidas Taekwondo silhouette and pushes it firmly into ballet territory.
Ribbon lacing replaces the more conventional sporty finish, while the toe is decorated with pearl-inspired and diamanté embellishment. The effect is delicate and decorative, but the recognisable Three Stripes keep the shoe anchored in Adidas' sporting heritage.
It is exactly the kind of crossover that makes the collection feel made for fashion fans who have embraced ballet flats but still want a distinctly contemporary edge.
Adidas Climacool Becomes a Mary Jane
Rocha's transformation of the SR Climacool is even more unexpected.
The performance-inspired runner has been reimagined as a Mary Jane, complete with a leather upper, cut-out tongue and sculptural heel counter. Instead of looking like traditional running footwear, the silhouette has been given a polished, feminine finish that makes it easier to imagine with skirts, dresses or tailored trousers.
The designer has also revisited the archival Japan silhouette for the SR Japan Fuzzy Slip On. The open-heeled style features a pony hair-effect upper, while the Three Stripes are recreated as sculptural pearl-like detailing.
Together, the three shoes show just how far Rocha has pushed Adidas beyond its conventional trainer territory.
Pearls, Diamanté and Ribbons Take Over
The embellishment does not stop at the footwear.
Rocha has transformed the Adidas Trefoil into a decorative motif, creating a custom brooch and hair clip featuring diamanté and pearl-inspired details. Knee-high football socks receive the same treatment, while the classic Adidas Airline bag is given a broderie anglaise finish.
The clothes follow the same formula. The iconic Firebird track top has been cropped and given exaggerated volume, while the Beckenbauer track top is layered with tulle. The Superstar track top gets puffed sleeves, bringing a softer silhouette to one of Adidas' most recognisable styles.
Elsewhere, the collection includes a frilled dress, skirt, trousers, fitted leotards and classic T-shirts. The mix means the collection can be styled as a complete fashion look rather than simply paired with trainers.
A Sportswear Collaboration With Personal History
For Rocha, the partnership has a particularly personal connection. The designer has spoken about wearing Adidas under school skirts as a teenager and later pairing Adidas football shorts with vintage tutus and petticoats.
That history helps explain why the collaboration feels less like a sudden departure for the designer and more like an extension of an aesthetic she has been exploring for years. British Vogue reports that Rocha spent time in Adidas' archives in Germany while developing the collection, looking at the functional origins of pieces that eventually became fashion staples.
Rocha has described her approach as bringing Adidas into a more feminine space without making femininity synonymous with softness or fragility. That tension between strength and decoration runs throughout the collection.
The Fashion Campaign
The collaboration is accompanied by a campaign photographed by Justine Kurland, with the imagery designed to capture a youthful, dreamlike world around the collection.
The campaign brings together 11 young women and reflects Rocha's interest in intimacy, youth and community. Its softer, almost otherworldly atmosphere mirrors the contrast at the heart of the clothes: recognisable sportswear transformed through delicate materials and elaborate details.
And this is only the beginning. The autumn/winter 2026 collection marks the start of an ongoing Adidas Originals and Simone Rocha partnership, with the designer already interested in exploring more performance-led categories in future.
For now, though, the message is clear: Adidas has entered Simone Rocha's romantic universe, and the Three Stripes have never looked quite so pretty.
