adidas’ Ballet Obsession Continues With The Transformed Taekwondo

Mary Janes, tabi toes, loafer-ized sneakers. Of the dominant footwear trends that have emerged in the past few years, meeting halfway between traditional sneakers and... © Sneaker News, 2025. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us The post adidas’ Ballet Obsession Continues With The Transformed Taekwondo appeared first on Sneaker News. The post adidas’ Ballet Obsession Continues With The Transformed Taekwondo appeared first on Sneaker News.

Mary Janes, tabi toes, loafer-ized sneakers. Of the dominant footwear trends that have emerged in the past few years, meeting halfway between traditional sneakers and more fashion-minded silhouettes reads as the most novel. adidas has been in on the action for some time, but is redoubling their efforts with a further redesign of an archival style, the adidas Taekwondo Mei Ballet.

The history of this silhouette takes you down a winding path; the Taekwondo proper first hit shelves in 1988, tooled for the sport in its title. A revival in 2019 added the dual cup soles underfoot before in 2024, the Taekwondo Mei shifted back to a leather composition and added a new angular lace shroud. Finally, we now meet the Taekwondo Mei Ballet, chopping the top off that reinvention and leaving the overall shape and underfoot section as the only true holdovers.

Though the most recent Bad Bunny adidas collab carried the “Ballerina” title, the Taekwondo Mei Ballet is the Three Stripes’ biggest embrace of the aesthetic to date. On top of the extremely minimal sole unit, sectioned into two rear and fore cups, the lacing reflects genuine ballet wear. Or should we say, the lack of it — a criss-crossing web of ribbons is what it offers in terms of closure, tying to the wearer’s ankle for a further traditional embrace. As the shoe looks to a market debut, three colorways are on tap, executing one in metallic silver and two inverted black/white looks.

The adidas Taekwondo Mei has begun cropping up in scattered fashion at retailers, but an official adidas release is still pending. Retail pricing is similarly opaque for the moment. Check in to the adidas new arrivals page and our Sneaker Release Dates page for updates in the coming weeks.

Adidas Taekwondo Mei Ballet Jr7032