On the running track in Centro Sportivo Forza e Coraggio stadium, a model drops to one knee, settling into his sprinter’s crouch. Ready or not, it’s time! He springs to his feet, but there’s a jerkiness to his movement — as though he’s caught off guard by a twinge in his hip. Then he propels himself along the course, shuffle-running to the finish line with an unexceptional pace. No matter, the look is anything but unimpressive: a head-to-toe black tracksuit, complete with Adidas’ three stripes running along the sleeves and front, and the company’s trademark trefoil.

For its spring-summer 2025 collection — dubbed “Forza e Coraggio,” meaning courage and strength — Avavav has collaborated with sportswear giant Adidas, staging a tongue-in-cheek, 100-meter race in which models attempt to clear the world record in short-distance running. “It has been a long-time dream of mine to partner with Adidas Originals,” creative director Beate Karlsson said in the press release. “From the beginning of our partnership, I was encouraged to ‘make fun’ of Adidas. There’s so much irony in how seriously we take both sports and fashion, and exploring that while maintaining a serious attitude has been incredibly fun.” 

One by one, models “sprint” down the runway-slash-running-track. Some force their feet into a half-hearted jog, clomping forward clumsily. Some power-walk, their heads perfectly still and held high in defiance — almost as if saying, “You can’t make me!” Others curse and grumble at the commentator, and one model even fake-vomits from all the pretend exertion. Observing the audience react to the chaos unfolding on the runway is almost as interesting as watching the show itself — because if there’s anything Avavav is so good at cultivating, it’s that shock factor.

Falling Apart at The Seams

Beate, the Florence-based brand’s Swedish creative director, is known for creating these kinds of moments. Moments that hook you. Moments that explode on social media. Moments that make the rounds on every news outlet.“There is usually some darkness in the themes we’re investigating and humor allows for an easier and more fun approach to these topics,” she told Vogue earlier this year. “So humor is a tool for us to process challenges while helping us stay grounded and not take ourselves too seriously.”

Since her debut show at Milan Fashion Week, she has sent models (a cast of actors and dancers) tumbling down to their knees on the runway in a commentary on the fashion industry’s obsession with wealth and status. During one show, the audience was encouraged to throw garbage at the models. During another, the clothes ripped and peeled off the models as they walked down the runway. These are the types of productions that give fashion outsiders a reason to call the industry a little cuckoo and those on the inside a reminder of why we love runway shows so much. 

And why we love fashion. Correction: why we love outlandish fashion, which Avavav has given us plenty of over the last few years. Just like Maison Margiela’s split-toe designs and Balenciaga’s chunky dad sneakers perplex and astonish people in equal measure, Avavav’s own monstrous chicken-feet boots have been mocked for their ridiculousness as much as they have garnered a committed fan base. In today’s show, the finger-feet shoes are back, reimagined as three-striped boots and a shell toe attachment worn on top of black pumps and Adidas Superstar sneakers. 

A Run of Bad Luck

Stumbling and seemingly out of breath, a model trips on the track and loses a shoe — a three-striped sneaker converted into a peep-toe kitten heel. She turns around to retrieve it and continues to drag herself down the runway, the car-wash-style, thick-cut fringe of her track robe bouncing with every step. The look is impressive — and not just because of that stunning, vibrant red or the fact that each panel is controlled with a zipper. It’s a perfect amalgamation of two brands becoming one without losing their distinctive visual identity. This is Adidas, but it’s also Avavav. Both DNAs shine with complete confidence. 

Blending goth streetwear with avant-garde designs, Beate transforms deadstock fabrics and leftover textiles into eclectic garments characterized by asymmetric draping, cutouts, ruching, and exaggerated silhouettes. This season, we see wide, elephant-legged pants with clever, three-dimensional ruching from knee to hem. We see cutouts in varying shapes — on trousers for a garter-like effect and on hoodies and t-shirts in skeleton-esque designs. We also see a “shoulderless” hoodie and a striped shirt with a print that inconspicuously spells out the unlucky number 13. I truly love how there’s something interesting to discover in almost every look.

Beate also continues to expand upon her more tailored offerings, which she introduced last season, with entries like blazers. But of course, not just any blazers — ones with funky necklines that look as though they’ve been cut with scalloped-edge scissors. Others are designed with a more relaxed hand, like a sporty, three-striped blazer layered with tailored tracksuit bottoms. These straight-legged trackies are also paired with matching cropped jackets and — in a more quirky look — with nothing but a top painted directly on the body. “It’s pretty wild that we can paint on a garment, and everyone immediately recognizes it as Adidas,” Beate said. “That’s something you can only achieve as a global player like them.”

Victory’s in The Bag

In the chaos of a spectacle like this, it might be easy to miss the details. But given just how strong Avavav’s accessory game is, this isn’t the case. Throughout, models cart gigantic leather handbags — Beate’s riff on the classic Adidas airliner bag. But that’s just the beginning. There are caps with three parallel shoe-laces hanging down the front and others with finger-shaped brims. There are three-fingered goalkeeper gloves and headbands. There’s also another bag proposition: sculptural and petal-like, with each curved section resembling Adidas Superstar sneakers. (The shape, sans the shoes, was first introduced on the fall-winter 2024 runway). 

When the last model exits — or rather, shuffles off — the runway, we wait in anticipation for the final walk that never comes. Instead, after a brief pause, they filter back into the track and form a line parallel to the audience. Then we see Beate, clad in a loose, oversized black t-shirt and the brand’s ruched elephant-leg pants. “Thank you everyone for coming here today — there’s … you’re so many here,” she says as the crowd cheers and applauds. 

It’s rare that we get to see designers after a show for more than a minute, let alone hear them talk. But of course, Beate bucks tradition with a heartfelt speech, thanking her team and models for always being up for anything. “I also want to thank Adidas,” she speaks into the microphone, pausing as the drum of the “d” reverberates around the stadium, “… for letting us join the family.” Another pause. Even more cheers. “… even though we really suck at sports.” It’s true. No world records were broken today, but Avavav certainly proved that slow and perhaps a little unsteady can win the race.