A left shoe, a right shoe and six takes on LEGO’s adidas Superstar
Seventeen extra elements let builders choose a foot. The launch artists went further, testing how much of the sneaker could change while its outline held.
One sneaker in the box
Open a shoebox and the usual expectation is a pair. The LEGO adidas Originals Superstar came in shoebox-style packaging with enough pieces for one sneaker and a surprisingly specific choice about it. Seventeen additional elements allowed the builder to make either the left shoe or the right. Two finished shoes would require two sets.
That distinction matters on a shelf. Seen in profile, the three dark stripes dominate. Look down from above and a shoe has a direction, a big-toe side and a different curve along the other edge. The decision about which foot to build gives an object intended for display one of the properties that would matter most if someone could wear it.
A lace among the bricks
Designer Florian Müller recalled getting his first Superstars in the 1990s. In the joint June 2021 announcement, he described the difficulty of reproducing footwear whose soft material takes on a different shape depending on the person wearing it. LEGO’s model fixes that changing silhouette in rigid pieces, right down to the ridged shell at the toe. Then it breaks its own material pattern with actual shoelaces.
The laces do something that another strip of white bricks could scarcely manage. A loop can fall forward over the tongue, and its partner can sit a little higher. Two copies built for the same foot can already look slightly different before anyone changes a single brick.
A familiar outline under new colours
For the launch, the LEGO Group asked six creatives to customize their own versions. The group included sneaker artist Aida Kiraya and artist Tom Yoo. In one campaign photograph, a builder works on a shoe with red and yellow bands at the heel and small green elements projecting from the side. The raised tongue and row of laces still read clearly across all that colour.
The collaboration also produced wearable trainers with details resembling LEGO bricks. Seen together, the projects crossed paths somewhere around those three stripes. One team had to make leather suggest a building toy. On the display model, the artists could change the surface at will and count on the shape underneath to keep saying Superstar.
Reporting checked November 11, 2026. Plans and programs can change; follow the linked organizations for current information.