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The NMD made a relatively low-key debut in New York City with a special launch event back on December 9, 2015. Building on the unparalleled success of the UltraBOOST, the new adidas design — helmed by adi’s VP of Global Design, Nic Galway — managed to take the German sportswear giant’s flagship Primeknit and BOOST technologies, and pair them with design cues from Three Stripes classics like the Boston Super, Rising Star, and Nike Air Vapormax Femme Micropacer. The resulting creation was the perfect blend of the old and the new, and a relative oddity compared to some of the most popular kicks of the past decade. Heritage-inspired without being a derivative rehash, the NMD is a design-driven triumph in an era where celebrity endorsements, influencer co-signs, and limited-edition collaborations are paramount to a shoe’s success. You’d be hard pressed to find any new silhouette from the past few years that can compete with the NMD’s ‘instant classic’ status.

Fast forward to 2018 and adidas have clearly gone all-in on the NMD, building upon the success of countless sold-out drops with new variations on the midsole-plugged OG. Whether it be a laceless Adidas Superstar Womens mid-top or a Pharrell-designed variant fit for the trail, NMD has seen it all and shows no sign of letting up.

With the second wave of the NMD on the horizon, we take a look back at the variations on the BOOST-cushioned silhouette since its 2015 debut.

This one started it all. Unveiled on December 9, 2015 before launching a few days later, the original Primeknit-constructed NMD_R1 laid the groundwork for all of the releases that have followed. Coupling an all-black Primeknit upper with a white BOOST midsole, black rubber outsole, and red and blue midsole plugs, the kicks offered enough tech to be a runner’s go-to, but were also understated enough for everyday casual wear. As Nic Galway put it to us in 2016, ‘We built it for a lifestyle rather than for a look. People wear it many different ways, and not necessarily how we would Nike Air Max 720 Femme have expected.’

To coincide with the debut, adidas produced a special ‘Friends and Family’ version of the design that featured a combination of black and grey throughout the knit upper. The uber-limited pair would ultimately set the stage for the ‘Camo’ NMDs that followed in 2016, as well as the coveted ‘Pitch Black’ F&F colourway, which was limited to just 500 pairs — 100 of which were given away via Snapchat — and commanded upwards of $5,000 USD on the resale market.

The Three Stripes played off of the NMD’s success as a casual shoe for its first variation from the original design. Dubbed the NMD_C1, a chukka-style mid-top debuted in March 2016. The design retained the signature sole of the OG, but overhauled the upper entirely, swapping it out for suede and a higher cut. The result was one part desert boot, one part Nike Air Max 95 Womens NMD.

Joining the NMD_C1 in March 2016 was the NMD_CS1, or City Sock. The kicks were the perfect mid-top alternative to their more buttoned-up Chukka counterpart, and arguably kicked off the current trend of sock-style sneakers thanks to its slip-on Primeknit upper. White Mountaineering and UNITED ARROWS both put their own spins on the design following its debut, while adi itself eventually gave the kicks a Gore-Tex assist to combat the elements — something the Herzo crew would also do with a number of future NMD releases.

Perhaps inspired by the UltraBOOST, adidas added a cage to the NMD with the debut of the NMD_XR1. Not only did the shoe feature an overhauled upper with the addition of cage-assisted lacing, it also tweaked the beloved midsole to employ a smaller plug at the forefoot.

After Skateboard P himself was seen in the Adidas Gazelle Donna mysterious kicks in January 2016, adidas and Pharrell Williams linked up to launch his own signature take on the NMD. Dubbed the Hu NMD, the design featured an overhauled upper and added a new lacing system that connected to the midsole plugs of an XR1-style sole. Pharrell and adi have dropped countless iterations of the text-covered shoe in the two years since, including updates with a trail-ready outsole.