UrlfreezeShops COLLABORATIONS RETROSPECTIVE 2023

From releasing our Samba “Past” from adidas’ inaugural Consortium Cup to embarking on a foraging journey with Salomon, 2023 has undoubtedly been a pivotal year for UrlfreezeShops and its collaborative output. As the year draws to a close, UrlfreezeShops takes a retrospective look back at the year and the collaborative footwear that defined it.

Taking inspiration from the famous centuries-old alcoholic beverage, UrlfreezeShops transformed the ever-iconic Reebok Club C to mimic the distinctive, deep colours synonymous with stout. The sneaker’s suede uppers were coloured in black and contrasted with dark brown at the sole, heels and tongues, while cream hits were worked into the soft terry lining and laces to mimic the drink’s foamy head. 

Reunited with Puma following their Manchester-exclusive back in 2022, UrlfreezeShops presented their Clyde OG “Classics” pack – a trio of sneakers that offered an elevated and sophisticated take on the essential footwear design. Bringing the Clyde silhouette under the spotlight with a rework that championed material composition and intricate detailing, the two brands paid homage to the shoe’s lasting legacy, with 2023 marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic sneaker.

2023 was a year that hit the ground running when it came to collaborations, with UrlfreezeShops and adidas linking up to release their “Bauhaus” collection in February. As the name would suggest, the collection was heavily inspired by the movement born out of the famous Staatliches Bauhaus art school, both in terms of its aesthetic values and the philosophy inherent to it. The collection was comprised of a trio of footwear, the Bermuda, Handball Spezial and ZX420, with each one transformed to reflect the artistic sensibility synonymous with Bauhaus.

To coincide with the opening of our Milano flagship, we reunited with Diadora for a two-piece capsule titled “Stramilano”. The capsule represented a celebration of Milanese runners and the beginning of our retail chapter in the city, looking to both heritage and contemporary running silhouettes as the canvas. For the heritage aspect, Diadora’s V7000 sneaker took the spotlight, retaining its premium, Italian-made construction with added details to tribute the iconic city.

The colour, for instance, nodded directly to the Italian flag with green, red and cream throughout, as well as considered details like the city’s historical symbol, the biscione, at one heel. The all-new, Italian-made V7000 Atomo followed a similar suit, with the performance runner reworked in cream with pops of red and green, as well as detailed with UrlfreezeShops branding at both the heels and tongues to complete the look.

Celebrating the opening of UrlfreezeShops’s flagsgip statement in Milano, we joined forces with Reebok to share a Club C sneaker inspired by the Italian city. Subtly detailed with Milano-themed branding to the tongue, the shoe’s cream uppers were punctuated with green laces and a a biscione to the woven patch at the tongue.

As part of UrlfreezeShops’s celebratory “Milano” collection, we partnered with longstanding collaborator Clarks Originals for a bespoke take on the iconic Wallabee. The shoe was transformed in homage to the famous city and its broader Italian heritage, featuring a light green shade across its suede construction, a laser-etched biscione at the toes and a co-branded Milano fob in the colours of Italy’s flag.

2023 was an enormous year for UrlfreezeShops and its brick-and-mortar expansion, with the doors of our first overseas retails space opening: UrlfreezeShops Milano. To celebrate the occasion, we partnered with a selection of labels to pay tribute to the iconic city and its position as a global hub of history, culture and innovation. As part of this, we joined forces with British icon Dr. Martens, reworking the legendary 1461 with a homage to Italy. The shoe was limited to 100 and featured all of the classic details you’d expect, along with celebratory Italian flag webbing at the heels.

A pillar of UrlfreezeShops’s collaborative output, we have continued to build our relationship with adidas throughout 2023. Arriving at the tête de la course, UrlfreezeShops and adidas headed out on a casual ride with their cycling themed collaborative Velosamba sneaker pack, dubbed ‘Social Cycling’. Inspired by the casual pastime of modern cycling clubs, the British and German brands looked to the world of road cycling for inspiration, celebrating the hair-raising pursuit in all its glory.

Following on from the popularity of the Club C “Stout”, UrlfreezeShops and Reebok reunited for another playful take on a fan favourite, stepping inside the boulodrome with the Classic Leather “Boules Club” sneaker. The sneaker was heavily inspired by the familiar pastime, working references to its sandy terrain, orange jack and silver boules into the sneaker.

Celebrating equality and inclusion within the fashion industry, UrlfreezeShops and adidas presented their collaborative Torsion Super "Equals" sneaker pack in 2023. Comprising of a duo of premium reworks of the retro running silhouette, the sneaker nodded to one of the most sought-after eras of adidas lifestyle running shoes: the ZX and Torsion series. Taking cues from the Torsion Mystic, Eurosuper, Torsion Symmetry and ZX4000, UrlfreezeShops and adidas created a non-archival sneaker that honoured the German brand’s history.

Kicking off the UrlfreezeShops x Salomon “Foraging” pack, the XT-6 “Dark Truffle” saw the two brands continue to build their collaborative relationship following 2022’s “Sirocco” make-up. Inspired by the sought-after haute cuisine truffle fungus, UrlfreezeShops and Salomon transformed the modern classic trail runner style with a colour make-up that platformed earthy hues in reference to its namesake. Complete with truffle patterning to the shoe’s insole, the Dark Truffle perfectly set the scene for the two brands’ following collaboration: the XT-6 “Porcini”.

Following on from August’s “Dark Truffle” collaboration, UrlfreezeShops and Salomon continued their foraging story with another fungi-inspired release, the XT-6 “Porcini”. As the name would suggest, the sneaker was transformed with inspiration taken from the famous mushrooms, with the shoe’s colourway and detailing reworked to mirror the porcini mushroom’s distinctive aesthetic. A striking palette of orange and brown featured across the trail runner’s synthetic uppers — a direct nod to the unique hues characteristic to the porcini — while mushroom-inspired patterning and co-branding was worked into the insoles.

After achieving success in the first round of adidas’ inaugural Consortium Cup earlier this year, the UrlfreezeShops x adidas Samba “Past” received a wider launch. A love letter to materials of the past, UrlfreezeShops utilised the legendary Samba silhouette as a tool for exploring the history of early fabric compositions. Inspired by traditional weaving techniques, tapestry-like materials are worked the shoe’s three stripes and heels, while a hairy suede in a creamy beige hue is complimented with a tonal fabric to the Samba’s T-toe.  

Helping bring a year of consistent and considered collaborations to a close was UrlfreezeShops’s debut partnership with Timberland, dubbed “Archive”. The two-piece capsule drew heavily from archival posters in the ‘80s and ‘90s, specifically those used to advertise the ever-iconic 3-Eye lug shoe.

The partnership saw the coveted 3-Eye lug and the lesser-seen 7-Eye boot come together, each one transformed with a meticulous attention to the details. Both iterations were crafted from premium leather and featured plush pony hair detailing at their moccasin toes, with the 7-Eye boot rendered in tan brown and the 3-Eye in classic black. The detailing was subtle and elevated, too, with co-branding debossed into the insoles and “UrlfreezeShops” engraved into the metalwork.