Adidas and Kawasaki are at it again with the new Kawasaki ZX 5K Boost shoes by Adidas Originals. If you think the Trans-Pacific non-technical footwear collaboration is something new, think again. The first ZX sneaker from Adidas dates back to 1984, when the ZX500 shoes appeared.
The new ZX 5K Boost shoes have a wide range of features. The upper and the lining is textile, with a black TPU overlay, rubber outsole, and Boost midsole. It’s a lace closure design with Kawasaki green TPU eyelets for the laces, with the laces featuring electroplated tips. It’s hard to miss the Ninja logos on the upper, green streaks along the side, and the ZX-logoed black TPU badge at the bottom of the laces. There is also a semi-transparent ripstop vamp in black. Although Ninjas aren’t known for chrome, there is some shiny stuff on the heels—it’s known in the cobbler world as “shoe jewelry.”
Packaging is everything, of course, and the Kawasaki/Adidas shoes arrive in a custom box with a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R graphic. There’s always tissue with sneakers, and this is no exception. However, to make the experience a bit more memorable, the paper has a sketch of a Kawasaki motorcycle printed on it.
You can’t sell a product without some promotion. Insiders at Kawasaki and Adidas Originals tell us that there will be an “evocative campaign film which pays homage to Japanese motorbike culture by taking the viewer on an unexpected journey through the city’s streets,” according to one source. We can’t confirm which city the source is referring to.
You’ll have to wait until April 14 to order the Kawasaki ZX 5K Boost. The shoes have an MSRP of $160 a pair, though we don’t know what sizes will be offered. The shoes will be available from Adidas Originals, as well as at Kawasaki dealers in the United States, Canada, Australia, the EU, Japan (naturally), and Thailand.
Kawasaki ZX 5K Boost by Adidas Originals Photo Gallery
