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[Saba Sports News] On an episode of Gils Arena, Gilbert Arenas discussed how he got Adidas to rethink their design approach, especially with their iconic three-stripe logo. When he signed with the brand, Arenas saw the traditional placement of the stripes as limiting the shoe’s design potential.
“The Adidas sign wasn’t traditional,” Arenas said. “I looked at all the shoes out there, and I told them, ‘Your logo is too big. It takes up the artwork.’” For his first shoe, the GIL Zero, Arenas proposed, “Can you put the logo on the back? So instead of having the three stripes mess up the design, I had them placed on the heel.”
Arenas continued to push for change with his second shoe, the GIL 02, saying, “I want my s**t to look good, like the MJs. So I said, put the logo on the inside of the shoe.” He pointed out that this creative shift influenced other players’ shoes, like James Harden, who later had the stripes moved to the back as well.
Arenas’ insistence on prioritizing design over traditional branding helped change Adidas’ approach to footwear, showing that player input can reshape even iconic elements of a brand.