For years now, ADIDAS have produced extensive variations of apparel and footwear encompassed within a bracket labelled as EQT - short for Equipment. We should probably give a little background information before diving into the hard stuff; 1991, a big year for NASA in launching their landmark Hubble Telescope and an equally momentous 12 month for Three-Stripes which quite literally bungeed the team a moment away from bankruptcy’s unforgiving fall.
Peter Moore gave Oregon’s Nike the AIR JORDAN 1; surpassing all targets pencilled into MJ’s now-infamous signature sneaker contract moreover birthing an entire consumer platform based on nothing more than leather, a smidge of rubber and plastic aglets. Moore was (and is) a genius in his own right, but what he did with adidas’ EQT range was nothing short of BIBLICAL - he used the motto, ‘everything that’s essential, nothing that’s not’ which remains prevalent nearly three decades later.
It wasn’t Moore alone though, for marketing brilliance (student take note) please look into the portfolio and OUTLANDISH track-record tethered to Rob Strasser’s unequivocal career. This was the gentleman who agreed terms with McEnroe and Jordan for Nike; the same gentleman who started a small ‘Sports Inc.’ brand consulting firm with Moore after quitting Nike HQ in 1987.
1989 comes along and Sports Inc.’s phone rings, they visit adidasHQ in Dassler’s hometown of HERZOGENAURACH and return to sportswear’s 'Silicon Valley’ of OREGON as quickly as they departed; this time with an agreement to rejuvenate their former-arch enemy’s name. EQT was born, stripping archived essentials back to ‘The Best of adidas’, rebranding a pivotal key in our culture’s metaphorical lock whilst leaning heavily on an iconic four-colour palette.
Strasser unfortunately passed in 1993 at the young age of 46; Moore still consults for his German counterparts.
This post acts as a tribute to two of the most important names to have ever graced adidas’ payroll; the team who single (or dual? Ha!) handedly helped two industry giants divulge in SUCCESS. This is how the EQT OG came to exist, please enjoy a handful of pairs draped in the limited yet celebrated palette above.
