Yara Shahidi is growing up and doing grown-ish things, like taking a page out of the Book of Beyoncé with an Adidas collaboration. The 21-year-old actress's emerald green and mustard yellow heavy line just released a second drop that's flying off shelves, but her athleisure venture is more than just another drop. The mixed starlet found ways to intricately weave her Black and Iranian roots into the very heart of the collection.
"My first instinct was how do we honor the past in a way that also pays homage to the future," Shahidi told BAZAAR.
"The one thing that I wanted people to take away was even though a lot of these details are specific to my own growing up and the things that impacted me, the entire campaign is about how we re-create our heritage. I'm constantly figuring out what it means to me to be Black and Iranian—it's ever-changing."
She did this with bold detailing such as embroidered Farsi script on varsity jackets, global colorways, and 1960s-inspired silhouettes. And when it came time to the overall aesthetic of the collection, Yara created dozens of mood boards featuring earthy yellows—a color that she found integral in both her cultures and the cultures of so many. "I'm a big mood boarder," she explains. "During that process, I really identified what were the colors that kind of were resonant—there was something about that particular mustard that felt globally resonant. And I found it in almost every one of my images that I pulled."
Think: Jumpsuits and track pants with matching track jackets that feature Adidas' signature three-stripes but with an old-school feel and hint of culture. She's not the only one shaking things up at Adidas either. In fact, her friend Beyoncé, who has dropped previous collections of her Ivy Park line in conjunction with the sportswear giant is releasing a swimwear collection under the umbrella brand. An eye-catching hue also takes center place here in the form of neon-orange.
"Flex Park" is the follow-up to Bey's successful Icy Park campaign in February. This time the superstar is asking fans, "How do you flex?" for summer. "FLEX, by definition: A boastful statement or display," reads the Flex Park press release. A sneak peek at some campaign images doesn't disappoint either with the models ranging in size, skin tones, and genders.
Entrepreneur and fashionista Kristen Noel Crawley, actor and creative Quincy Brown, and body-positive influencer Tabria Majors all posed for the campaign that exudes confidence.
You can look forward to statement-making separates to mix and match poolside that are made for a variety of bodies (available in sizes XS-4X). When it drops, you can also shop poolside accessories like slides, beach cover-ups, tees, a bucket hat, a tote bag, a towel, and a water bottle.
Yara Shahidi's Adidas collab is available now at Adidas.com and in select retailers. Beyoncé's Flex Park drop launches on July 22 online and in select stores globally on July 23.
Featured image via Gif