Adidas Partners with Topps for Special-Edition Cleat and Trainer Pack

The latest inspiration for a new design of the Adidas adizero Afterburner, Icon cleat and Icon trainer came when cleat designers started sifting through packs of Topps baseball cards. The resulting effort gives us an Adidas x Topps collaboration, turning Topps mainstays into on-field designs.

The three iterations of Adidas footwear take elements from Topps Chrome packs of cards, the holographic images and stats on the backs of cards, allowing the card company founded in 1938 to play heavily in the design of the new cleats and trainer.

The special-edition Afterburner cleats use a one-piece hologram graphic that changes colors during movement. With the upper including statistics and the Adidas three stripes inspired by Topps cards with game-worn jersey materials, the heel pull tab features a graphic of blurred fans in the ballpark and a Topps certified autograph space for players to sign cleats, just like they would a rookie card. Additional detailing includes a Topps logo within a home plate on the tongue and logos on a custom sock-liner.

The Icon cleat uses a molded holographic heel clip and reinforced toe cap full of statistics. The tongue tab features the autograph space, while the Topps logo moves to the heel. The Icon trainer mimics much of the detailing from the cleat.

The footwear ranges between $110 and $140.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.