From Prototype to Preservation
adidas Originals × Bad Bunny with Willy Chavarria
An intimate look at adidas Originals’ evolving archive through the lens of its long-standing partnership with Bad Bunny, culminating in a powerful panel hosted by Willy Chavarria in Puerto Rico…
This past weekend, we traveled to Puerto Rico to experience something rarely seen outside the brand: adidas’ living archive of Bad Bunny collaborations. Over 150 samples were on display, many of them unreleased - offering a rich and carefully curated glimpse into years of experimentation and creative evolution between adidas and the global music icon.
As part of Bad Bunny’s “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” residency, adidas launched “The Archive: Puerto Rico Para El Mundo. La Historia de Una Collab” with a panel discussion featuring Rafael Mayorga, adidas’ Design Director for Collaborations and Special Projects, and Sandra Trapp, the brand’s Corporate Historian and guardian of the archive. The conversation was moderated by designer Willy Chavarria, adding another layer of perspective to the dialogue between heritage and innovation. The exhibition, running August 6th through 17th (2025), offers a rare, multifaceted look at one of adidas’ most culturally resonant partnerships, and reflects the evolving philosophy guiding both its archive and collaborative process.
During our time in Puerto Rico, we interviewed both Rafael and Sandra to better understand the design process, preservation strategy, and cultural intention behind this long-standing partnership.
“Everything starts with Puerto Rico para el mundo. That’s the north star. Always.”
Rafael Mayorga.
From day one, Bad Bunny made it clear that everything needed to center Puerto Rico. The rainforest. The people. The sound. The pride. That grounding principle became the foundation of every design and helped shape a new kind of creative system within adidas.
Rather than following the typical playbook, Rafael’s team approaches each season as a true design dialogue. They prototype early, show up with physical samples, and sometimes build entire silhouettes without ever sketching or opening a 3D program -just photocopies of archival shoes, scissors, and instinct. The process is deliberately tactile, intuitive, and at times unpredictable.
Some designs go straight to production. Others take years to develop or never make it out of the studio. A few are changed at the last minute -like the now-iconic Forum, which was originally white until Benito casually decided over coffee that it should be brown. The team pivoted quickly.
“What we’re doing today is tomorrow’s history. That’s why we capture the entire process. Sketches, samples, all of it.”
Sandra Trapp
As the design team looks forward, Sandra’s role is to ensure nothing is lost along the way. Her team doesn’t just archive finished products -they preserve the full creative journey. Every sketch, iteration, and prototype from the Bad Bunny collaboration is meticulously documented and stored. And it extends far beyond footwear. The adidas archive includes more than 40,000 cataloged items, from shoes and apparel to packaging, advertisements, legal trademarks, and even maintenance tools like pumps for vintage footballs.
Maintained with strict temperature control, acid-free materials, and a capped number of daily visitors, the archive is equal parts preservation lab and historical vault. For Sandra, this exhibition is unique—not because the archive has traveled, but because these pieces are making one meaningful stop in Puerto Rico before joining the permanent collection.
“This exhibition in Puerto Rico is a pit stop. These shoes will soon become part of the permanent archive.”
Sandra Trapp
The link between product and place runs deep throughout the space. From references to early adidas patents to reimagined silhouettes like the SL72, the design language is layered with both legacy and cultural specificity. It’s not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake - it’s storytelling rooted in authenticity and carried forward with intention.
That storytelling came full circle during the panel, where Willy Chavarria used the moment to unveil one of his upcoming silhouettes: the adidas Originals x Willy Chavarria – Chavarria Oaxaca slip-on. A modern reinterpretation of the huarache, the shoe features an intricately woven premium leather upper, a slip-on structure, and an open toe - offering a quiet but powerful statement on cultural craftsmanship and design evolution. It was a fitting end to an exhibition grounded in roots, but fully engaged in the future.