Better Than the Original?

It’s no doubt that one of the biggest sneakers this year was the adidas Ultra Boost. The adidas running sneaker was originally introduced in early 2015, and it quickly made a name for itself in both the streetwear and high fashion worlds. Not only that, in athletic circles, it was praised for it’s comfort and support. had a Kanye co-sign, it had an Uncaged version, it quickly flew off the shelves, and then it turned up as part of your bench squad of non-Yeezy adidas. All-in-all, the Ultra Boost had a big year.

(Source: tumblr.com)

Primeknit seems to be one of adidas’ big investments for their run at Nike, and the buying public has caught on. But, how much of that can be attributed to specific colorways? Basically, the Ultra Boost is a highly technical running shoe and when you take away certain parts of the aesthetic, mainly certain colors, the result is quite different. The more colors you have, the more Boosts will look like a running shoe you would see, well, at a gym.

(Source: sneakernews.com)

Take these Blue Racers that adidas just announced—this pair has a different cross over appeal than a pair of Triple White Ultra Boosts. Even after Labor Day, a pair of all white sneakers would be fire. But that isn’t to say these Blue Racers won’t be a hit when they release later this Fall, but there are custom Boosts out there that are just a little bit more eye catching than these. Take for example this pair by our friend True Blue Customs.

(Source: @truebluecustoms)

Many of the Ultra Boosts floating around the Lace Lab and Angelus Direct Instagrams are custom jobs that arguably look better than some of the original colorways that adidas dropped themselves. Not that this is a bad thing, if anything, it shows how far sneaker customizers are taking their creative skills, like Carmeno Customs did with this pair.

(Source: @carmeno_customs)

Or, maybe customizers have an eye for what paints and laces look best on which shoe. Like these pairs done by customizers @huy_x_sophia, who look like they have the Boost game on lock right now.

(Source: @huy_x_sophia

(Source: @huy_x_sophia

Either way, as adidas rolls out more Fall and Winter-ready Boost models, it’s going to be interesting to see what the #lacelab and #angelusdirect community comes up with in. They might be better than the original.