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adidas Handball Spezial

adidas

Handball Spezial

The functional handball shoe that became a streetwear icon.

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adidas Handball Spezial IH5374
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Semi Flash Aqua & Impact Orange"
  • $189,99
adidas Handball Spezial JI2648
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Collegiate Green & Clear Pink"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IH5373
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Lucid Blue & Lucid Pink"
  • $189,99
adidas Handball Spezial IF7086
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Grey Two & Cream White"
  • $189,99
adidas Handball Spezial BD7633
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Collegiate Navy & Clear Sky"
  • $189,99
adidas Handball Spezial BD7632
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Light Blue"
  • $189,99
adidas Handball Spezial JS0250
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Clear Pink & Solar Orange"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial JP5278
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Collegiate Royal & Cloud White"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial Comfort Closure Elastic Lace JI2899
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial Comfort Closure Elastic Lace
  • "Collegiate Navy & Clear Sky"
  • $100
adidas Handball Spezial Comfort Closure Elastic Lace JI2898
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial Comfort Closure Elastic Lace
  • "Black Gum"
  • $100
adidas Handball Spezial JI2895
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Collegiate Navy & Clear Sky"
  • $110
adidas Handball Spezial JI2894
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Black Gum"
  • $110
adidas Handball Spezial JI2646
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Wonder Mauve & Alumina"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial JH5437
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Preloved Ink & Semi Screaming Green"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial JH5436
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Aurora Ink & Wild Sepia"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial JH5435
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Warm Sandstone & Preloved Ink"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IH8010
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Black Gum"
  • $120
adidas Handball Spezial WM IH0136
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial WM
  • "Collegiate Navy & Bliss"
  • $240
adidas Handball Spezial IG6192
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Preloved Green & Cream White"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IG6191
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Preloved Red & Cream White"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IF7088
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Preloved Yellow"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IF7087
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Night Indigo & Cream White"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IF6562
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Aluminium & Core Black"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IF6561
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Clear Pink & Arctic Night"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IF6490
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Earth Strata & Off White"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IE5896
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Collegiate Green & Semi Green Spark"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IE5894
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Bright Red & Clear Pink"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial IE3403
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "White Gum"
  • $189,99
adidas Handball Spezial DB3021
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Black Gum"
  • $190
adidas Handball Spezial JS0251
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Active Purple & Solar Green"
adidas Handball Spezial JS0241
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Alumina & Clear Sky"
adidas Handball Spezial JP9800
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Cloud White & Off White"
adidas Handball Spezial JI4645
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Cardboard & Crystal Sand"
adidas Handball Spezial JI4471
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Grey Three & Clear Mint"
adidas Handball Spezial JI2903
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Night Indigo & Orchid Fusion"
adidas Handball Spezial JI2902
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Light Blue & Cloud White"
adidas Handball Spezial Comfort Closure JI2901
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial Comfort Closure
  • "Night Indigo & Orchid Fusion"
adidas Handball Spezial Comfort Closure Elastic Lace JI2900
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial Comfort Closure Elastic Lace
  • "Light Blue & Cloud White"
adidas Handball Spezial JI2897
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Night Indigo & Orchid Fusion"
adidas Handball Spezial JI2896
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Light Blue & Cloud White"
adidas Handball Spezial JI1407
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Lucid Pink & Almost Yellow"
adidas Handball Spezial JI1406
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Spark & Lucid Pink"
adidas Handball Spezial JH9092
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Black Leopard"
adidas Handball Spezial JH7558
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Olive Strata & Silver Metallic"
adidas Handball Spezial JH7557
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial
  • "Orange & Silver Metallic"
adidas Handball Spezial Wm JH5454
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial Wm
  • "Court Green & Lucid Pink"
adidas Handball Spezial Wm JH5453
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial Wm
  • "Shadow Red & Solar Yellow"
adidas Handball Spezial x Sporty & Rich IH8337
  • adidas
  • Handball Spezial x Sporty & Rich
  • "USA"

Handball Spezial

In the late 1970s, German sportswear brand adidas reacted to the popularity of handball in their country by producing an indoor shoe that was perfect for the fast-paced sport. Known as the adidas Handball Spezial, it was built for agility and speed, with a grippy rubber cupsole, a sleek low-profile, a durable suede upper and minimal branding. 

This high-performance design saw the Handball Spezial become popular across Europe’s indoor courts after its 1979 release, but it soon found a place amongst the casual football fans of 1980’s United Kingdom, who brought it back from the continent after watching their teams play in Europe.

In time, these supporters popularised the Spezial in the United Kingdom, taking it into other subcultures such as breakdancing and underground music scenes. Although adidas moved on to other shoes, this allowed the Handball Spezial to maintain a presence in the wider culture so that, when it finally made a return, there were plenty who remembered it.

The Spezial name was first brought back to prominence by brand consultant Gary Aspden, who launched a sneaker-based project under the decades-old moniker in 2013. During its first exhibition, Aspden drew attention to classic adidas sneakers as he told a compelling story of the brand’s history. With unique colourways donated by celebrity sneaker fans, it reintroduced heritage silhouettes like the Handball Spezial to a new generation.

Aspden was given charge of a new project called adidas SPZL, and over the next few years, he went on a retrospective journey in which he introduced old models to a modern audience. With its name back in the mainstream, the Handball Spezial returned in 2018 as adidas made it a core part of the popular Originals line.

In the 2020s, adidas Originals were must-have sneakers, and by 2023, the Handball Spezial was showing up on the social media feeds of fashionable celebrities and influencers. Meanwhile, Aspden celebrated ten years of the SPZL project with a stunning exhibition that drew even more attention to the Spezial name. Before long, the silhouette was involved in stylish collaborations with high-end lifestyle brands including Sporty & Rich and Kith as it became a cultural phenomenon.

The adidas Handball Spezial began as a well-designed indoor sports shoe, but after more than 40 years, it is now considered a timeless lifestyle model and an icon of modern sneaker culture.

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