The first design featured an upper based on the popular ZX range, which allowed an introduction of new ideas to be accessible via familiarity. Material Matters is our weekly tech section, where we take a peek behind the mesh curtain and break down the building blocks of the industry. But all was not lost, two decades after its disappearance designer Nic Galway was wandering the archives at Three Stripe central when he happened upon the OG Radical. A discovery deep within the adidas archive had motivated adidas Originals’ VP of global design Nic Galway to revive the Tubular name, as well as the ambitious design ideals that kicked off the project almost three decades earlier.

Those first 500 were recieved well, and just a year later the Tubular line launched, utilising all of the tech the Radical prototypes had pioneered. On the bulkier side of things the Tubular 4 had an integrated pump on the side and four separate air chambers, clearly based off the beta version of the previous year. From time to time concepts can stray a little too far into the future, resulting in ideas that the world is not yet ready for – such are the perils of the visionary. The mind of a sneaker designer exists in a temporal limbo – creating for the future with constant reference to the past. It appeared on the Y-3 Qasa in early 2013, before appearing in the adidas mainline just over a year later.Instead of focussing on the engineering, the sole reimagined the concept with new methods of production.

The second gen Tubular range now makes up a huge portion of the adidas Originals offering, with a wide variety of styles, as well as multiple variations of the tube-shaped EVA sole. The futuristic concept was also known as the X-29 and had four separate air chambers on the sole that could be adjusted using an integrated pump – they even had a digital LCD pressure gauge. It wasn’t until the sneaker was reissued in 2014 as the Tubular Runner that the style single-handedly ushered in a new era of sneakers. In less than two years, the prototypes evolved into incredibly complex pieces of engineering – then in ’92 adidas took the unusual step of releasing a beta version of the Radical to the public. The idea resonated with Y-3 designer Yohji Yamamoto, so he and Galway came up with the Qasa – not strictly a Tubular but a hugely successful silhouette nonetheless.It’s up to them to integrate cutting edge know-how into new styles while staying one step ahead of present trends. From its roots as a DIY-style fanzine to today’s global coverage, its pages have documented every colab, custom, limited edition, retro reissue, Quickstrike, Hyperstrike and Tier Zero sneaker released over the last two decades.

The design process had focussed on the overall form of the shoe, with materials chosen to fit the sculpted last and contribute to a dynamic look.The midsole was made from high-performance Pebax plastics, while the air chambers were made from poured rubber. They were cobbled together using parts from the Equipment series, with a Torsionbar and some industrial looking connectors. There’s never been a one-to-one retro but the influence is clear, for example the Tubular 2 has heavily influenced the Tubular 93.

More recent additions to the line incorporate elements of the old designs into ultra-modern concepts – like the Tubular Doom which pairs an old-school lacing structure with cutting edge knitted construction. The concept behind the design was born from the ongoing quest for superior cushioning that could give athletes that little extra kick that might shave a fraction of a second from their best times. In 2013 the market wasn’t oriented around technical silhouettes like it had been in the mid-90s, so Galway decided to strip back the Tubular to its core. It was made in a way that wasn’t previously possible, but stood up to the vision that the designers had in the 90s.The design he came up with was comprised of two densities of moulded EVA, in a tube-like shape that was wrapped around the sole – combining targeted support and cushioning. Designers worked on one more prototype, an advanced version of the Tubular 4, but were forced to concede to the fact that the technology they needed to manufacture the shoe didn’t exist yet. Originals released the Adidas Tubular in 1993, however it was deemed too ahead of its time with its futuristic aesthetic and shelved after only two years. It was offered as the lightweight option, without the inbuilt mechanics, but only had two adjustable air bags in the heel and a forefoot that was cushioned with EVA foam.