As Pride celebrations approach, Adidas and renowned South African designer Rich Mnisi join forces to launch a vibrant and inclusive collection for Pride 2023.

With a mission to promote allyship, freedom of expression, and inclusivity in sport and culture, the collaboration showcases a range of apparel and footwear that embodies the spirit of love and acceptance.

Adidas has recently announced its latest collaboration with South African queer designer Rich Mnisi for a unique collection and campaign for Pride 2023, called "Let Love Be Your Legacy". The collaboration has a shared ambition to encourage allyship and freedom of expression without bias, in all spaces of sport and culture. 

The Adidas x Rich Mnisi range of apparel and footwear spans both lifestyle and performance featuring signature silhouettes across Adidas Originals, football, cycling, Sportswear, and swimming.

Rich Mnisi is a popular South African fashion designer, artist, and photographer. He started his career by designing fashion for the African market, and later on, he shifted his focus to creating a unique design aesthetic that represents African culture and modernism. 

Rich has collaborated with several renowned brands such as Woolworths, Pichulik, and several fashion publications. His design philosophy is all about elevating the African design aesthetic, making it accessible, and pushing boundaries.

The collection's inspiration comes from a love letter that Mnisi wrote to his younger self, declaring that Let Love Be Your Legacy, serving as his mission statement and a rallying cry for active allyship to empower and champion the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Adidas partners Tom Daley, Jari Jones, and Athlete Ally have written 'Love Letters' for the campaign, calling for radical self-acceptance and support from the wider communities in culture and sport and appearing alongside South African rugby player Lusanda Dumke in the collection.

The collection's vibrant color palette is paired with the slogans "Love Unites" and "Let Love Be Your Legacy" printed onto the fabric, emboldening its wearer to lead with love and uphold inclusive values. 

The apparel and footwear feature Mnisi's retro graphic print, a monochrome circular check design layered with hand-drawn flowers and abstract shapes in bright and punchy colors, with the Adidas three-stripe boldly accented in pink and red. The Adidas x Rich Mnisi collection includes garments made in part with recycled materials and in collaboration with Better Cotton.

The Adidas x Rich Mnisi collection for Pride 2023 is part of the brand's ongoing commitment to help make sports equal. With the ambition to drive greater access, equity, and safety for sport's marginalized communities through advocacy and allyship, this year Adidas continues its ongoing partnership with non-profit Athlete Ally, which focuses on ending homophobia and transphobia in sport.

Founder of Athlete Ally, Hudson Taylor, comments, "Together with Adidas, our goal is to drive inclusivity in sport - supporting student-athletes from the LGBTQI+ and their allies to push for fair access and safe participation in sport. Through our partnership, we've created more affirming athletic spaces to celebrate the community across sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions."

The Adidas x Rich Mnisi collection is a significant step towards promoting allyship, inclusivity, and freedom of expression without bias in sport and culture. 

The collaboration's message, "Let Love Be Your Legacy," is a powerful statement that encourages people to embrace and celebrate their true selves and support the LGBTQIA+ community. 

The collection's vibrant colors, slogans, and designs embody the spirit of allyship, and with Adidas' ongoing commitment to making sport equal, this collection is a symbol of hope and progress toward a more inclusive and equal world of sport.