After the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and 7 others in January 2020, his estate was in charge of handling his business affairs going forward, including where his name would be in regard to sneakers. Once controversy came about with pairs of the Nike Kobe 6 “Mambacita” making their way to retailers early and terms not being met at the negotiating table, Nike and the Bryant Estate parted ways before eventually reconciling in April of 2021. Even with Bryant’s name staying with Nike, his original footwear partner, adidas, was set to retro the now-titled adidas Crazy 1, his first signature sneaker with the brand back in 2000.
We did see a small return of the Crazy 1 thanks to an overseas release of the “Stormtrooper” colorway, though October 22nd was supposed to be the first US release of the model in the “Sunshine” colorway. Just days before this, the sneaker disappeared from adidas’ website and retailers took down their raffles, causing many to wonder what happened to the sneaker. Now, thanks to reporting from Complex, we now know that The Three Stripes recalled the sneaker due to quality control issues.
Although the brand did not officially give a cause for the quality control issue, it’s being reported that the foam upper was suffering from widespread creasing issues. This recall is one of many delays the sneaker has undergone in the last year as it was originally supposed to release back in April 2022, though this large delay is likely due to logistics issues still plaguing the global market.
As of now, we’re not sure when adidas will officially bring back the “Sunshine” colorway of the adidas Crazy 1. With quality control issues like this, the brand would have to reproduce pairs which would take months before it could hit the market. In the meantime, we've got a slew of Crazy 1 colorways, like the Snakeskin, Regal Purple, and more on the horizon. Keep it locked to our Twitter and the Sole Retriever mobile app to stay updated on release info for this ill-fated adidas Crazy 1 and more in the sneaker and streetwear world.
adidas Crazy 1 "Sunshine"
