Rick Owens creates Adidas tracksuits that double as personal airconditioning
Tiny built-in fans help to circulate air around the wearer of these inflatable Adidas jogging suits, unveiled by fashion designer Rick Owens as part of his Spring Summer 27 menswear show in Paris during the city's record-breaking heatwave.
The ballooning jackets, shorts and full-body tracksuits are made from Tyvek – the same durable plastic used to make hazmat suits. Worn with ice vests underneath, they create what Owens describes as a "personal air conditioning system".
These kinds of fan-powered jackets, or fan-jakketos, were originally invented to cool down outdoor labourers in Japan and were recently worn by staff at the Osaka Expo.
But Adidas has also been adapting the technology for use by Formula 1 drivers and football players at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, who are increasingly competing in extreme heat.
"The system combines a cooling vest and insulating jacket that work together to deliver targeted upper-body cooling – reducing core temperature by up to 0.5°C and skin temperature by up to 13°C," the German sportswear brand explained in a press release last month.
For his SS27 Stone collection, Owens has used the same technology, creating garments inflated via a small fan built into their lining.
True to his love of exaggeration, the designer has blown up the idea to bloated, Michelin-Man proportions, played off against the classic design of Adidas tracksuits with their three stripes and drawstrings.
The pieces can also be worn with the fan off for a less bulbous look. "It just turns into a regular Tyvek jogging suit," Owens told i-D.
Under the theme of "grace under pressure", his SS27 menswear collection also features foam-stuffed chaps informed by the tensegrity architecture of Buckminster Fuller and tank tops hand-piped with latex detailing as if they were pieces of cake.
Owens's show at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris came at a poignant time, as France was gripped by a historic heat wave that led to 1,000 excess deaths and overwhelmed the capital's mortuaries.
The designer was among a number of participants to move their shows forward to take advantage of the lower temperatures in the early morning, while others handed out fans, parasols and ice packs to help attendees fend off the 40-degree heat.
Across town, a giant wave fed by Paris's public water system presided over Pharrell Williams's Louis Vuitton presentation, coinciding with the city's hottest day on record.
Climate change has turned Europe into the world's fastest-warming continent, raising questions about the advisability of hosting mass gatherings like fashion weeks at the height of summer.
All imagery courtesy of Owenscorp.
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