adidas Originals EQT: 5 Favourites With Till Jagla

As part of the adidas originals EQT launch in Berlin (see here for more on this), we caught up with TILL JAGLA, the Global Senior Director of Footwear Concepts at adidas Originals – and a key player in the relaunch of the EQT range. Surrounded by a selection of the new EQT models, we took position on the sofa and asked him for five favourites…

TDD: Hi Till. Having been an integral part of this collection, what’s your favourite shoe from the new EQT range?

Till: Definitely the Support RF. I collected a lot of shoes back in the day and the Equipment range was always a very emotional story for me. I particularly like the RF, as we have refined it: we’ve put it on the Guidance last to give it a more aggressive appearance. I love the suede and mesh combination. I could easily choose another model… but I always go back to the RF as it really resonates with me: if I could choose one shoe for the rest of my life, that’s the one.

TDD: What’s your favourite part of the overall process, from the initial concept stage through to the product reaching the market?

Till: My favourite part is when you see the first prototype of a new shoe: it’s emotional and it’s something that we really celebrate as a team. It’s not just about the marketing of a product – the process involves design, development and communication but once the first prototype is there, everybody comes together and talks about the shape, the material and possible changes. It’s a money-can’t-buy experience. I also like reading the feedback from consumers once a product is in market – both good and bad, as constructive feedback just makes us better.

TDD: What’s your favourite technology on the current range?

Till: I think the no brainer is to say Boost and Primeknit, but I also like all the minor changes and fine points. We spent a lot of time carving out the nitty gritty details which really make the difference to a sneakerhead: things like the tongue construction, which comes from the Support 93 family and appears in almost all iterations of the design. It might not be a technology as such, but it has a real purpose and function. We refer to it as the burrito tongue!

TDD: What’s your favourite technology of all-time?

Till: That’s a very good question… I think the APS was brilliant back in the day – the first Anti Pronation System was perfect. The most comfortable shoe I have in my collection, outside of Boost, is the Cushion 91. It has a SoftCell element in the heel area and it’s so comfortable and well thought through. Everything that we created in the late ’80s and early ’90s resonates well with me because it was so purposeful – and it still counts today.

TDD: Time for a difficult question! What’s your favourite shoe ever – and why?

Till: That’s a mean question! Haha! Rather than pick a specific shoe, I’d have to say that the early ’90s runners are what resonates most with me. I love all of the different colourways – many of which felt awkward back then, but now feel so right. Back in the days, the design team at adidas were ahead of their time. Seeing those shoes now, over twenty years later, really makes sense. I really like the ZX 8000, I like the ZX 9000, I like the Support 93… It’s that whole era for me.

TDD: Thanks for your time, Till!

The ADIDAS ORIGINALS EQT SS17 RANGE is AVAILABLE NOW: click the banner below to check the full collection at ADIDAS.