Text: Jesse Scott
Beate Karlsson’s Avavav has taught us to expect the unexpected in its four years of existence. Yet given the brand’s subversive counterculture nature, few people could have predicted that its Spring-Summer 2025 show would take place at an iconic sporting venue and feature a collaboration with one of the globe’s most famous athletic brands.
Having arrived at the Forza e Coraggio sports arena, guests found themselves confronted not by a traditional runway but instead by a row of benches beside a track. Swedish brand Vitargo provided water bottles and electrolyte gels at each seat, an ironic hint at the show to come but also a much-needed refresher for guests closing an intense week of events. The event’s emcee, in the quirky and unapologetically awkward style for which Avavav is known, introduced the show as an attempt to break the world record for short distance running.
The models’ attempt was ironic, iconic, and quixotic. They lurched down the track erratically, some talking on their phones, others stopping to curse life, and one even vomiting. Most wore footwear and accessories that boldly re-interpreted Adidas hallmarks with an instantly iconic Avavav twist. For example, the Adidas superstar sneaker merged with Avavav’s beloved four-finger Leather Finger Boots for a striking three-striped collision of traditional streetwear and avant-garde experimentation. While the boots may have hampered athletic performance, their playful spirit made them an instant hit with an exclusive guest list including Mahmood, Yeman Crippa, and the Nova Twins. Meanwhile, comically bulky three-fingered football gloves and hats with three-fingered cutouts added a whimsical Avavav touch to a broad array of aesthetics.
Absurdist yet Wearable Collection Delights Guests
The collection effectively toed the line between highly conceptual and everyday wearable. An absurdist take on the track jacket, with bouncing fake breasts incorporated below the Adidas logo, closed the show. This was contrasted by a classic red puffer (with whimsical Avavav designs on the back) and distressed grey hoodies ideal for those who want to add irreverent flair to their everyday loungewear. I fell in love with a black graphic tee paired with a pleated black schoolgirl skirt and emblazoned with the words “Finisher Forza e Coraggio 0.08 km,” a reference to how far the models ran.
Even this distance itself typified the delightful dysfunction for which Avavav is known: why do a full hundred meter dash when you can stumble off the track at eighty? Equally impressive was the three-striped skull cap style hoodie, paired with tight pants and bug eye glasses and worn by a model who literally crawled off the runway.
Meanwhile, the hybrid track jacket dress, likely to become one of the collection’s biggest commercial successes, and the track crop top, worn with baggy jeans most definitely not conducive to athletics, were excellent examples of Karlsson’s oft-overlooked sartorial genius. The theatrics of her shows often steal the headlines and cause critics to underplay her talent as a designer. But the crop top and track jacket dress were perfect examples of how, through simple but carefully devised alterations, she can take an emblematic piece and distort it into a deeply subversive statement that nonetheless does not deviate far from its original form.
Collaboration Fulfills Longtime Dream for Karlsson
Beate Karlsson told the press, “It has been a long-time dream of mine to partner with Adidas Originals. I’m honored and beyond happy to have the opportunity to play around with their incredibly strong DNA; it’s so much fun! Especially since Avavav is still such a baby compared to Adidas, which comes with so much legacy and history.” The collection is a watershed moment for Karlsson. From having models intentionally fall down on the runway to planting audience members to pelt them with rubbish, Avavav has already made waves in its four years of existence. But this collaboration with a global sportswear giant should bring it to a new level of global exposure.
In the words of the brand, the show “invites both fashion and sports enthusiasts to have a laugh, relax, and simply enjoy the show—encouraging them to take both industries a little less seriously, at least for once.” Karlsson succeeded in this goal. Yet perhaps unintentionally, the sophisticated and irreverent silhouettes that stumbled down the track served notice to the fashion industry that she should be taken even more seriously moving forward.