This Is the Sneaker Pharell's Adidas Jellyfish Is Based On

Pharrell Williams' co-sign is a big deal. From music to fashion, whatever the Virginia-native invests his time in has a tendency to explode in popularity. Adidas sneakers stamped with PW initials or Humanrace branding have been no different.

Since 2014, the multi-hyphenate has been important to the Three Stripes, especially within North America. His co-sign of the Adidas Superstar and Stan Smith in the mid-2010s launched both franchises into a new stratosphere of relevance, helping set the stage for the heritage designs' next decade. Along the way, Pharrell has worked with designers to develop all-new silhouettes, but he's been at his best when reimagining existing models from the Three Stripes' expansive catalog.

For his Adidas Jellyfish, a project he previewed during January's Paris Fashion week, the Men's Creative Director at Louis Vuitton chose the Adistar Cushion 3 as his canvas. The chunky silhouette had been long-forgotten, but a push of inline and collaborative releases have returned the design to the sneaker zeitgeist. None, however, have elicited the fervor Williams' version has—and understandably so.

Pharrell first wore the shoes ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris. Not much was known about the white, grey, and orange-colored trainer, sending netizens on an investigation: What sneakers are those?

The unnamed design bore semblance to the Response CL— a cushioned runner from 2003 turned fashionable footwear by Adidas Originals—but its proportions and tooling were different. Savvy enthusiasts familiar with the German company's retro lineup quickly made the connection to the Adistar Cushion 3 from 2005, but Williams' sneakers featured an entirely different build across the upper. Still, in typical big brand fashion, Adidas began releasing non-Pharrell-Williams takes on the silhouette in order to build energy in anticipation for the project's eventual announcement.

Over the next eight months, Adidas launched the Adistar Cushion 3 in a handful of styles. Unassuming "Grey One" and faithful "Cloud White/Better Scarlet" colorways led the charge, largely flying under the radar. Collaborations with Hello Kitty® and Sporty & Rich brought some attention to the silhouette, but fell short of making inline versions hot commodities in the same way limited editions of the UltraBOOST and NMD throughout the 2010s had everyone wanting whichever colorway that could get their hands on.

In late December 2024, Philip Lipshutz, founder of Cincinnati-based brand Unheardof, unveiled the Adistar Cushion 3's biggest look of the year.

Dubbed Piggy Runner, the sneaker kept the chunky retro's blueprint intact, but elevated it through premium materials, playful branding, and an eye-catching pink color palette. The narrative-driven project wouldn't release until March 29 of the new year, and anticipation hit impressive heights for a collaboration in Adidas' post-YEEZY era.

The Piggy Runner was limited to just 1,500 pairs, which did not begin to suffice for the demand there was. Records also show that the Three Stripes didn't prep easily-accessible, inline style of the reissue before, in the build up to, or after the launch of Unheardof's pork-inspired sneaker. A lack of capitalization on the attention being paid to the collaboration could only be seen as a missed opportunity, and likely also hurt the relevance of Song for the Mute's own Adistar Cushion collab the same month.

Images acquired by Elden Monitors suggests the sportswear giant isn't looking to repeat history in the lead up to the launch of the Adidas Jellyfish. A number of never-before-seen colorways—including "Court Purple" and "Shadow Olive" looks—join a few options currently being offered overseas. A stateside release via Adidas.com of these and other Adistar Cushion 3s should be planned over the next two months.

An official release date for Pharrell's version hasn't been disclosed by any party involved, but it's speculated the Jellyfish will debut at retail throughout fall.

As its name suggests, the 20-year-old design features robust cushioning. A combination of standard AdiPRENE and the more premium AdiPRENE+ (found on the late Kobe Bryant's rebranded KB8 III) come together to deliver plush, neutral comfort to the highly-technical design. Pharrell and team employ the same setup on their proposal, but reimagine the top-half.

In an Instagram post that's since been deleted, former Adidas Design Director Zac Andrews shared, "Pharrell saw the early concepts [for the shoe], locked in, and said, 'Go way bigger'. He loved the sculptural layers and jellyfish-inspired colorway (white, grey, green, tan, and orange). From there, it was all about pushing the boundaries with the amazing team of people that worked on this."

The original Adistar Cushion 3 features a rather busy upper. Williams' collab isn't any different, but its panels are presented in a new, almost sculptural manner. The use of orange for the debut Jellyfish project has also helped the exoskeleton-reminiscent shoe draw attention.

Keep an eye on Adidas.com and House of Heat°'s dedicated Adidas Release Dates Calendar to shop all upcoming pairs of the Adistar Cushion 3.

Away from the Three Stripes, the New Balance catalog continues to explore with more modern design elements.