For years, football has been good at selling us things laced with nostalgia. A shirt from a particular season, say, or a boot coaxed out of retirement for a second life as an everyday shoe.
When adidas and Yohji Yamamoto get together, the result is rarely subtle. For 2026, the long-running Y-3 partnership returns to the pitch in time for one of the feistiest fixtures on the calendar, with the F50 pitted once again against the Predator in the same way that Real Madrid face up to Barcelona.
There’s something great happening aesthetically in football’s creative departments at the moment. Among the endless stream of team announcements, transfer graphics and promotional content, a growing collection of beautifully illustrated matchday posters is catching our attention.
Brands have launched prototype boots before. That's nothing new. But few have looked this deliberately unfinished. The internal codename, all-white execution and discreet branding of On's debut football boot make it feel more like a concept car unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show than a future football silo. And that's exactly why I love it.
Kylian Mbappé has spent most of his adult life being described like a future event.
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When adidas and Yohji Yamamoto get together, the result is rarely subtle. For 2026, the long-running Y-3 partnership returns to the pitch in time for one of the feistiest fixtures on the calendar, with the F50 pitted once again against the Predator in the same way that Real Madrid face up to Barcelona.
Malick Thiaw isn’t your archetypal defender. He’s different, and representative of a new, exciting modern era of defending.
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