Adidas had to deny a published press release announcing the company had appointed a former Cambodian union leader as its new co-CEO and another launched a Derelicte-style collection of apparel pre-worn by factory workers.
The Yes Men, an activist group with a history of creating spoofs to draw attention to how corporations respond to social issues, confirmed it was behind the release and a spoof launch event during Berlin fashion week, which sent confusion around the fashion world.
A spoof press release, sent to fashion bloggers from a fake Adidas email address, announced a “revolutionary plan” for Adidas, designed to “own the reality” of working conditions in the South East Asian factories where it manufactures many of its clothes.
Vay Ya Nak Phoan, the Cambodian former garment worker and trade union leader, was announced as the future co-CEO, alongside Bjørn Gulden, the former Puma CEO who took over as Adidas’ CEO at the start of 2023.
The new direction for the company was to be underlined by a “Realitywear” product range, curated by rapper Pharrell Williams, consisting of “carefully distressed” garments “upcycled from clothing worn non-stop for six months by Cambodian workers who are owed wages withheld during the pandemic.”
At a spoof launch event the Yes Men held in central Berlin, bruised and bloodied models stumbled across the catwalk in “Realitywear” garments in front of an audience that seemed to accept the collection as genuine. A pair of Adidas slippers, with spikes pushing through the soles, were presented in a glass cage as an example of the company’s new ethos.
The multi-layered Yes Men campaign also referenced the now-ended partnership with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who came under fire last year for anti-Semitic remarks and included a “response” from the company, providing fabricated responses to points raised in the first release.
By mid-day on Monday, Adidas denied it was behind the launch. “This announcement is not by Adidas and not correct,” a spokesperson said.
By then, the press release had been picked up by fashion news websites and bloggers. “Adidas seems to have learned from past mistakes and seems interested in a serious correction of its course,” wrote FashionUnited in an article later taken offline.
Another report, picked up by MSN’s news aggregator, presented the new range as Adidas trying to “make amends” after being forced to cancel its collaboration with Ye over the rapper’s antisemitic comments.
“Adidas is a company close to my heart,” said Yes Men Co-founder Igor Vamos, who operates under the alias Mike Bananno. “They have this history of incredible scandals they have managed to overcome. They are masters of greenwashing. “Bjørn Gulden has talked a lot about doing the right thing—perhaps today’s stunt will nudge them into actually doing it.”
Photo courtesy Realtywear
