Words and Experience by Kgosi Masilela, Junior Editor, 10and5.
From a late-night retail experience at Star Mart to conversations about personal branding, fashion and filmmaking, adidas Originals Studio brought together different expressions of Johannesburg’s creative culture over one weekend.
Creativity doesn’t always begin with something new. Sometimes it starts with looking at something you already own and imagining what else it could become. Other times, it comes from understanding your identity, finding your voice and learning how to communicate an idea to the world.
Over the weekend of 6–8 November, adidas Originals and Studio88 brought these ideas together through the adidas Originals Studio experience in Johannesburg. Across three days, the programme moved between retail, music, conversations and creative workshops, creating a space for people to engage with different expressions of sport, fashion and culture.
Friday night: A stop at Star Mart
Each day offered something different, but the underlying idea remained the same: originality is something you develop, explore and express in your own way. The weekend opened on Friday evening with Star Mart, a late-night retail and cultural experience powered by Adistar.
Hosted at Stanley Studio in Braamfontein Werf, just across the street from 44 Stanley, the launch brought together retail, music and culture in a setting that felt connected to the energy surrounding adidas Originals. The store drew a crowd, with guests coming through to explore the space, engage with the collection and enjoy the atmosphere. The visual setup gave the retail experience its own character, making the store feel like more than somewhere to browse and shop. Music added to the evening, with performances from Mamthug and Nkuley setting the tone for the launch.
Star Mart offered an introduction to the weekend’s wider experience, bringing people together through fashion, music and the culture that surrounds both.
Saturday: Where Sport Meets Style
Saturday shifted the focus towards the creative workshops, with participants exploring the relationship between sport, fashion and personal expression. One of the sessions, Kit Check, hosted by Kabelo Kungwane and Alex Zono, explored how sport influences what we wear and the ways sporting culture shapes personal style.
Bringing two different perspectives into the room, Kabelo’s football upbringing and Alex’s experience as a runner and designer offered an interesting starting point for the conversation. The session went beyond personal style, taking participants through the process of building a brand of their own. From developing an initial idea to budgeting and establishing a creative direction, the conversation highlighted the thinking and planning that goes into turning an idea into something tangible.
Alongside this, Build Your Original, hosted by Sonia Tona and Zéshaan Haku, brought creativity into a more hands-on setting. Participants worked with adidas pieces, exploring customisation and upcycling techniques to transform existing garments into bags. It was an opportunity to experiment with materials and reconsider the potential of clothing beyond its original purpose. Rather than starting from scratch, participants were encouraged to work with what they had and create something that reflected their own approach to style.
Sunday: Signature Moves And Finding Your Why
Sunday brought another dimension to the programme, shifting the conversation towards personal branding and the importance of understanding what you want to communicate through your work. Signature Moves, hosted by Pamela Mtanga and Rabia Ghoor, explored the importance of identifying your purpose and consistently returning to your ‘why’ in the things you do.
Drawing from their own journeys, both facilitators shared personal experiences and perspectives on building an identity, developing a business and establishing an online presence. The conversation encouraged participants to think more intentionally about how they present themselves and what they want their personal brands to represent.
It was a reminder that personal branding goes beyond how you look or what you post online. It begins with understanding your values, recognising what makes your perspective distinct and finding ways to communicate that to others. The session also closed with a styled content moment featuring the latest Adistar XLG and Control 5 drops, bringing the conversations around personal identity and creative expression into a visual setting. The session also closed with a styled content moment featuring the latest Adistar XLG and Control 5 drops, bringing the conversations around personal identity and creative expression into a visual setting.
Double Take: Finding Your Voice Through Film
The final workshop, Double Take, facilitated by Meghan Daniels and Hallie Haller, took participants into the world of filmmaking and visual storytelling. The session encouraged participants to explore what makes their perspectives unique and how those ideas can translate into creative work. Through interactive discussions and exercises, participants reflected on their values and the voices they wanted to bring into their storytelling.
Working in teams, participants were tasked with creating short films featuring adidas shoes, with a 30-second, single-take brief that encouraged them to think creatively about how they could communicate a story within a limited timeframe. The session concluded with participants sharing their films, bringing together the ideas, collaboration and creative decisions developed throughout the process. It was an interesting way to close the workshop programme, showing how personal expression can move beyond conversations and become something visual, something that can be shared with others.
More Than A Weekend Activation
Beyond the workshops, the retail experience continued throughout Saturday and Sunday, with Studio88 bringing adidas Originals products into the centre of the activation. Music also remained an important part of the experience. From Mamthug and Nkuley on Friday to Doowap, Jade T, Que DJ and Jinji across the weekend, performances added another dimension to the atmosphere.
OKAY Wasabi and Violy also brought their presence to Saturday’s retail activation, while OKAY Wasabi continued hosting on Sunday. Across three days, the programme offered more than just an opportunity to attend an event. It created room to learn, experiment, exchange ideas and look at creativity from different perspectives.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway was that originality does not have to follow one particular formula. It can be found in the clothes we choose to rework, the stories we decide to tell, the brands we build and the way we choose to express ourselves. And sometimes, all it takes is the right space to start exploring what that looks like.
