Adidas And Quiccs To Have More Collaborations In The Future
Filipino toy designer, graffiti artist, and illustrator Quiccs Maiquez has been a fan of Adidas sneakers for a long time. It was evident when he first started designing his character TEQ63 which was wearing a pair of Adidas Superstars back in 2012. Though he didn't have any official ties with the German sportswear brand at the time, Quiccs continued to use the Adidas silhouette on TEQ63 unofficially for years until an Adidas Philippines employee finally took notice at an art exhibit that featured his works.
Blown away by the impact of Quiccs's works in the art community, Adidas Philippines employee JD Cortez decided to invite him for a meeting with the local head honchos of the three stripes brand afterward.
"Si TEQ63, nung ginawa siya nung 2012, lagi siyang naka [Adidas] Superstars pero wala siyang paalam kay Adidas yun. Pero in secret, I'm hoping na through kaka ulit ko ng pag gamit ng [Adidas] Superstars, mapansin nila ako one day. Luckily enough, may collector kami na nag-yaya siya pa ng isa pa naming friend now, pero dati, parang ano-ano lang siya, sumama lang siya don sa collector namin – si JD Cortez, who works for Adidas," shared Quiccs during an interview at the recently concluded ToyCon PH 2023. "Then he saw the community, when he saw the impact that I had with the culture and of artists here sa Pilipinas. Parang na-enganyo siya na i-recommend or i-hain ako sa higher ups sa Adidas Philippines. And luckily enough, they really liked what I do. So, they invited us to collaborate with them to be a creator for them, as a partner – a partnership."
Since that fateful day, he and Adidas Philippines have been doing collaborations for years. Though the Adidas Superstar has been his go-to silhouette for Quiccs (and TEQ63), another old school three stripes silhouette is also one of the Filipino toy designer's favorites due to its connection with Michael Jordan long before he signed with American sportswear brand Nike.
"Yung [Adidas] Forums definitely. Kasi ano yun eh, parang old school na silhouette siya. Tsaka may mga back story siya na ano eh, that predates Michael Jordan becoming a Nike ambassador. Yun yung suot niyang shoes eh," he explained. "Nung wala pang siyang endorsement from any other brand. Sobrang OG nung Adidas Forums. Kung igu-google nyo yung Adidas and Michael Jordan, makikita nyo naka suot siya ng [Adidas] Forums before. So, astig yun for me. The silhouette, the very old school flavor of it. Some people would say na [Nike] Air Force One was inspired by the Adidas Forums. So yun, after [Adidas] Superstars, yung [Adidas] Forums yung next favorite ko."
A couple of months ago, he collaborated with Adidas Philippines and Foot Locker Philippines to release limited edition Adidas sneakers dubbed as "FTL10," which featured Adidas Superstars decked with an image of TEQ63 and graffiti art hand-painted by Quiccs himself. It was also the release of a giant TEQ63 figure wearing the familiar Foot Locker striped threads and of course, a pair of Adidas Superstars, which is on display at one of Foot Locker Philippines' stores located at Glorietta 3 mall in Makati City.
With the success of his collaborations with Adidas, Quiccs says there a bigger plans ahead with the brand. An upcoming Adidas merchandise line is also in the works which includes sneakers, toys, and more.
Definitely something fans of the Filipino toy designer and the three stripes brand can look forward to in the future.
"For sure, since yung contract namin tuloy-tuloy lang. I'm still under contract with them [Adidas Philippines] for three more years. We have bigger plans ahead and yung shoes, ano yun eh, matagal na process," he said. "So, we're still under the process of coming up with a new line. So, abangan lang nila, may mga shoes, definitely in the future. Yung toys tuloy-tuloy, tsaka yung other merchandise like wearables, tuloy-tuloy din."