At the start of his career, Derrick Rose was an unstoppable force with the shoes to match. Multiple injuries, surgeries, and trades have slowed down his performance throughout the past decade, but Adidas is tapping into his early days with a fresh iteration of his Adizero Rose 1.5 sneaker. The sneaker debuted in 2011, but the upcoming version encapsulates all of the Rose energy with a Restomod upgrade.
As a fresh MVP, Rose joined the Adidas team for a 14-year contract and sneakers to reflect his agility and fluid movement. A Restomod refers to a shoe that looks similar to its original silhouette but comes optimized for modern play. And because the Adizero Rose 1.5 silhouette is more than a decade old, there’s more than enough room to pack in Adidas’s tech for improvement.
Adiprene cushioning and a Lightstrike midsole, Adidas’s lightweight cushioning that provides maximum energy return, have been added to the new iteration. A Puremotion outsole is another Three Stripes invention, adding a layer of solid grip on the hardwood of a basketball court. The shoe also features a Sprintframe plate, which is a supportive midfoot chassis inspired by a bridge’s ability to support large amounts of weight.
Picking roses —
Arriving in a black-and-red color palette, the Adizero Rose 1.5 pays tribute to the first few years of Rose’s career. Classic details from the original silhouette are shown in the form of an upper made of suede and patent leather and Rose’s signature on the heel detailing. Vivid Red serves as the accenting color to round out the nod toward the Chicago Bulls, where Rose played at his best.
When the 1.5 was originally released, Rose had requested a higher collar to provide more support for his ankles. To counter the switch, the heel was cut lower to provide a greater range of motion. “Going into the back half of the season and playoffs he wanted even more comfort and protection, and we obviously did our best to give it to him,” Robbie Fuller, the sneaker’s designer, said in 2011.
Adidas has given the Restomod treatment to other silhouettes in its roster, including Gilbert Arena’s Agent Gil and Tracy McGrady’s T-Macs. Rose, on the other hand, is all for keeping his shoe game up to date. The now-New York Knicks player was spotted in a pair of unreleased Yeezys earlier this year, but neither he nor the shoes made it to the court that season.
You can find the Adizero Rose 1.5 Restomod on the Adidas website for $160. Hype may have subsided for Rose kicks, but they’re classics for a reason.
