Adidas Originals Sneaker Exhibition, Seoul
Location:
1 & B1F� aA� design� museum,� 408-11,� Seokyo-dong,� Mapo-gu,� Seoul, �Republic� of� Korea�
Design Credit:
URBANTAINER Co., Ltd.
urbantainer.com
A neon-pink glass façade lined with shoeboxes marks the entrance to Seoul’s Adidas Originals Sneaker Exhibition, a pop-up celebration of the brand’s EQT line.
Subtitled ‘No Second Guessing’, the museum-like pop-up explores the history of the line’s uncluttered, ‘just the essentials’ design ethos through media displays, archival designs and interactive exhibits.
Urbantainer steps out in style in this 90s-tinged homage to the ever-popular EQT line from Adidas.
The expansive warehouse space has a raw, street-style vibe, with exposed concrete, roughed-up textures and graffiti-style signage moments. Neon lighting and old-school technology take the pop-up back to the 90s, where the design ethos being showcased was first implemented.
The exhibition unfolds across multiple rooms and spaces. A Media Room displays the brand story across a stack of cathode-ray TVs. A Photo Exhibition set up to resemble a fine art gallery explores the values and context of the EQT design ethos. A Sequence Room offers visitors a deep dive into the design approach, while the soaring perspex Archive Tower showcases shoes from the 90s and 00s, along with accompanying catalogues, commercials and pop culture items.
A photo wall with work from local artists and a turntable installation where visitors can remix hip hop albums from the 90s provide opportunities for participation; a mobile pop-up store sells custom designs and services such as shoe cleaning.
With its shifting lighting and mix of old and new technology, the museum ties together the EQT of the last with that of today. It’s just one of a family of EQT popups, including those in Berlin and LA – with together form a unique way to spotlight this ever-evolving, timeless sneaker line.