The ADISTAR name carries more history than most people realise. Its origins date back to the late 1970s, when adidas introduced lightweight ADISTAR track spikes for competitive runners. These early silhouettes represented adidas’ attempt to strip footwear down to pure performance.
But by the time the ADISTAR family reached the 2000s, the design language had shifted dramatically. Running shoes became more cushioned, more structured, and more stabilised as a marathon culture boomed. Runners wanted support that could last. This is when the ADISTAR CONTROL series was born: stability-focused runners built for motion. These early silhouettes series merges robustic overlays, specialised foam setups and some of adidas’ most impressive technology of the era.
When the ADISTAR CONTROL 5 first arrived, back in 2008, if wasn’t meant to be a lifestyle shoe. It was a purpose-built stability runner designed around FORMOTION, a mechanical heel unit engineered to decouple and guide the foot during landing. Unlike typical midsoles of the time, FORMOTION physically moved with each stride, absorbing impact more evenly and helping runners maintain a smoother transition. Paired with this innovation were two even more critical innovations, ADIPRENE+ in the forefoot for propulsion and cushioning and TORSION in the midfoot for stability and controlled movement.
Fast-forward to today, and the footwear world has circled right back to the kind of design language the CONTROL 5 was built on. Chunky yet agile silhouettes, visible technology, layered uppers and breathable mesh. This makes the CONTROL 5 breathable and lightweight.
