adidas NMD_R1 'Japan Colorblock'
Colorway: Core Black/Cloud White/Lush Blue · Style code: EF1734 · Release date: April 2019 · Price: $133 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: adidas NMD_R1 J 'Japan Colorblock' (EF2311) · Adidas NMD_R1 'Japan White Colorblock' (EF0753)
adidas Originals kept a running series of Japan-themed NMD product, and this is the colourblocked entry. The upper is Core Black knit textile with the Three Stripes rendered in contrast rather than tonally, and the heel counter is wrapped in a layer of protective red taping, a functional-looking detail that also supplies the release's most visible colour.
The midsole inserts are where the theme is spelled out. Lush Blue taping with Japanese characters runs across the rear insert and graphic text fills the forefoot one, so the writing sits at the point where upper meets foam rather than on the panels above. The Boost unit itself carries printed stripes instead of a flat finish, extending the graphic treatment through the sole. It released in April 2019 at $140, ten dollars over the standard knit pricing that season, and keeps the sock-like collar and segmented rubber outsole the model always used.