Written by Bec Loades in New Collections on the 26th March 2018

The grid is all around us. You can find it in your Instagram, in the layout of your city, on the walls of the underground, in mathematics as well as print media, and it is a particularly useful tool in general design. The more you think about it, the more apparent it features in our everyday lives - even in our shoes. If you aren't aware, adidas have been using a grid in their trainers for a long time. Since the early 70s, to be precise, when the designers used a midsole net as a structural component of the shoe.

It helped provide hidden cushioning which propelled athletes when running. Adidas have adapted this idea from their archives, taking it into their recently launched brand new silhouette for their lifestyle shoe, the Deerupt. The name of the shoe being a portmanteau of the word 'disrupt' and 'erupt'. The description used by the Three Stripes sportswear giant is that the fresh design is "disruptively simple", and that is literally the best way it can be described.

The impressive European launch was held in Paris last week with adidas taking over part of the Louvre, with distorted and ‘disruptive’ images of the shoe projected across the site. A few weeks back, MenswearStyle were invited to the intriguingly secretive (no social media allowed!) London launch of the Deerupt, where we had an exclusive first viewing and introduction to the shoe by Creative Consultant Gary Aspden. Here he took us through the fascinating design development of various adidas trainer styles - from his personal selection - and explained how they have reached the Deerupt as the pinnacle of their current lifestyle shoe collection. What is immediately and primarily noticeable is the webbing. The design of the previously structural web, from the midsole, has been used to encase the shoe with a lightweight mesh which forms a geometric diamond-shaped grid.

Aspden showed us how the actual outer shape of the shoe has been inspired by the adidas Marathon and New York models. He stressed that during the design process, adidas were determined to bring what was once a hidden feature, to the forefront of the shoe and hence make the consumer more aware of their technological creativity. Another obvious change in the silhouette, is that the toe of the shoe no longer point upwards. The designers noticed that in the world of Instagram, adidas sneakerheads and fashion-lovers quite often took photos of their most recent purchases with their toes pushing the front of the shoes down. This creates a smoother, more stream-lined and visually-pleasing image. They therefore spotted a chance to change the shape of the front of shoe and have created an arguably more attractive profile. No doubt these will take off on the social media platform! This all just proves how adidas continue to use culture and the youth of today to help mould their ideas.

MenswearStyle have had the opportunity to try out the Deerupt over the last week. In an instant of wearing the shoes, it is immediately apparent how incredibly comfortable they are. With the aid of new insole cushioning and the Ortholite sockliner, you will not want to take these off! On top of that, they are extremely lightweight due to the EVA midsole and rubber outsole. Currently, the Deerupt is available in four colour ways; Solar Bird, Core Black, White on White and Core Black with Easy Green. We have been testing the all-white option and they are extremely eye-catching, especially the distinctive bright blue insole. The shoe is certainly not a subtle one. However, aside from the outer mesh, it can be considered as visually quite simple with its sleek silhouette and colour blocking. There is also a lack of obvious branding with just the adidas logo on the heel. When it comes down to technology, there is no doubt this shoe is far from simple.

The aim of the Deerupt collection is to add it as another staple to your wardrobe. The webbing may not be to everyone's taste at first, however once you wear it and experience the comfort, these sneakers will be hard to ignore. Another attractive aspect of the shoe is the price point, making it an accessible shoe for a wide audience. They will be perfect for summer in their striking colours and I am sure we will see more colourways added to the collection throughout the year. Adidas continue to push boundaries with their designs and the Deerupt is a perfect example as to why they continue to sit at the top of the lifestyle footwear ladder.

We report on the Adidas Deerupt Sneaker Collection Paris and London launch with Creative Consultant Gary Aspden.