Archival Rummaging: adidas Galaxy II (1996)
I can’t remember the first time I came across the adidas Galaxy series exactly. Every time I used to go to stay at my grandparents house my brother and I always used to pore over the different mail order catalogues that my Gran would receive seasonally. At the time (I was probably about 8 and my brother 6) we were both enthralled by football, everything we did revolved around it, so we used to dream of owning all these different pairs of boots as we flicked through the glossy stock pages of each huge book.
Within the running pages around this period there were a few models that still to this day stand out in my mind. Classic BW’s, the Air Max Triax 96, and different iterations of the adidas Galaxy. It was always known for having a vibrant selection of colourways, in particular fluorescent yellow, orange, and Slime green. There were a few toned down versions like a champagne and burgundy I think as well, but it was always these ridiculous, seemingly un-wearable colourways that I was fascinated by.
The Galaxy also sticks in my mind via a girl that used to be in the school year above me and would walk her huge Alsatian down past the park behind my house after school every afternoon. She always had the most elaborate choices in footwear, in particular the original Air More Uptempo, Air Money, and the bright yellow version of the Galaxy 1.
Fast forward 20 years and I finally managed to track down a pair in my size completely unworn, although now after a couple years of wear the midsole and upper appear to be having a divorce under my feet. I actually got the chance to wear them on my one and only trip to the adidas archive in Herzo, Germany a couple of years back, taking them back to their origins as it were.
Eye-watering colourways aside, it’s a beautifully designed shoe. Designer Savino Paolo Bove was responsible for several excellent designs from this era, including the Galaxy series, Falcon, and several great models from the Torsion and Feet You Wear families.
Categorised within the ‘Cushion’ category of running, the upper sits on top of a comfortable adiPrene midsole unit, with a Torsion bar running through the mid section to allow both flexibility and stability in the same breath. What I like most about the upper is the obscure way branding has been considered, with the Peter Moore designed Equipment logo scattered in several different areas of the shoe. Traditional sidestripes are reduced to subtle stitched in markings, while little nods to the stripes can also be found within the ghilly lace loops.
We also recently managed to source a vibrant pair of the first rendition of the Galaxy in the rather brash Red/White colourway in pretty good condition, slight crumbling on the midsole but it’s expected from something thats closing in on to 27 years of age now. There are a few more great colourways I’d love to try and track down to pull a bit of a collection together, as they’re not models I tend to see very often in peoples collections.
This era of runners is definitely having an impact on the brands current output of lifestyle releases, with the different evolutions of the Yeezy 700 line in particular pulling a lot of reference from several different models to inform both its midsole and upper shapes. I’m glad this era of design is being deemed as such a timeless range that still looks modern 20+ years down the line, and continues to influence and inspire.
RED COLOURWAY TO GO HERE.