Run DMC are a hip hop group that sprung to the heights of stardom in the early 80s. Their pumping beats and moving lyrics were backed up through a true sense of fashion.
During the early 80s Hip Hop groups were struggling to set a fashion trend that was true and unique to Hip Hop. There was a tendency to look towards funk groups or soul singers from the 70s as an inspiration for Hip Hop fashion. Run-DMC had different ideas and remained true to their regular street clothes that included black jeans, godfather styled hats, leather jackets and of course adidas footwear. Run-DMC’s no shoelace trend was developed from the jails where inmates were prohibited from wearing shoelaces and was a pivotal point in the development of trainer culture.
In 1985 Run DMC were the first Hip-Hop group to release a record based around a brand. That brand was adidas and the record was “My adidas”. Adidas were not involved with the creation of the record however they did benefit from the huge spike in sales of the adidas Superstar footwear. It was clear to see that Run-DMC were setting a standard of what a Hip-Hop group should look like and this style was being copied onto the streets.
Adidas eventually saw the potential and paid Run-DMC a bonus of $1 million and produced the Run-DMC clothing line. The partnership between Run-DMC and adidas accelerated Hip-Hop beyond music and created a street wear culture that is still extremely evident today. Likewise Run-DMC helped catapult adidas as a street fashion brand and without this partnership the outlook of street wear adidas might have been very different.
Vintage adidas enthusiasts will continue to source and pay good money for vintage adidas Run DMC clothing. So keep those eyes pealed and if you find genuine Run-DMC vintage clothing then make sure you snap it up!
I have a 1985’ish Red Adidas Leather Track Suit. It is a smooth leather with a suede leather logo on front and large suede logo on back. All red. What kind of value does this vintage item have?
Some adidas leather tracksuit bottoms sold for £100 recently but without seeing your tracksuit its difficult to say.
[…] to become a world leader in street fashion and extend its popularity beyond just sportswear. Run DMC were pivotal in this transition. The rap group out of Queens started wearing the shoe on the […]
I have a 1980’s run dmc womens moto jacket, black leather with white stripes down arm, limited edition, apparently only 500 made. Deadstock, they call it. I am looking to sell it. It is a size medium, immaculate condition. Looks as new as off the rack. Any idea how much to sell it for?
I have 2 RUN DMC sweatshirts from the 1980’s, one has the NYC skyline and the other is a Kings from Queens sweatshirt, both are in good shape as I still wear them, what is the possible value of these, as I have seen on the internet that the NYC skyline is 1 0f 500 made. I am looking to sell them as a pair.
it’s sad only duochebags read this article! lol
Typical Merica!