Table of contents CoreScoreVerdictComparisonSize and fitAdidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu StyleNotable FeaturesAdidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu HistoryNice to knowFacts / SpecsPopularityVideo reviews

Size and fit

The Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu shoes by Adidas Originals took cues from its Adidas sibling, the NMD Human Race. However, it remained low-key with its very smooth and ultra-soft one-piece upper. Its tongue is almost as high as the NMDs while its sole eliminated all the responsiveness of the Boost or even the Bounce technologies for a more standard EVA foam.

Adidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu Style

The Adidas x Pharrell Tennis Hu sneaker speaks of simplicity in 360-angle made with an ultra-light mesh material paired with an EVA foam on its sole. The one-piece upper has an oversized tongue where a piece of suede reveals Pharrell's Hu branding in a very discreet way.

One of the unique features of this low-key, woven slip-on is its lacing system that uses continuous stitching around the upper where the eyestays are commonly located. This sneaker comes in a variety of contrasting tonal colors and solid hues for a more refined look, which is ideal to be worn without socks.

  Pharrell Williams x Adidas Tennis Hu for men

The court style gets an updated, upbeat twist with a series of Tennis Hu offerings by Adidas x Pharrell Williams. Outfitted with a foot-hugging knit upper, some of the monochromatic shades created for the men sneaker fans are the core black, cloud white, and ash pearl.

Still keeping its minimalist aura, the Pharrell Tennis Hu is remade with a single-toned upper and colored heel patch. The colorways are mostly muted, and some of the designs are ash green/ash grey, cloud white/semi solar pink, cloud white/tactile green, cloud white/chalk white, and icey blue/tactile blue.

If you wish for more color and style that pops, there are Tennis Hu kicks with a mélange knit textile cover done with strong shades such as the pyrite/chalk white and bold aqua/chalk white. These sneakers put a feisty appeal to your typical everyday get-up.

  Adidas Originals Tennis Hu for women

The light-colored options on the Adidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu make them appropriate for casual work, traveling, running daily errands, shopping, trip to the gym, and after-work get together. There are colors that are specifically designed for women, though men are not restricted from owning pairs they like.

Some of the single-toned uppers with colored heel patches come in chalk shades of cloud white with either a blue or pink heel, talc/chalk white, aero blue, and icey pink/chalk white. Perhaps one of the darkest from the selection is the deep purple red night, while the multihued knitted is covered in green/chalk white.

Notable Features

Pharrell's "less means more" kind of fashion is seen in his design approach for the Tennis Hu. The sneaker slants towards minimalism supported by lightweight materials for the upper and flexible components on the sole, eliminating the use of outrageous geometrical curves and heavy accents. No wonder, the low-top Adidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu comes as a versatile option for all-day wear that works no matter what's trendy at any given time.

Adidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu History

Sneaker concepts nowadays thrive on having its foundation pegged on some of the great shoe silhouettes in the past. One that was hit by this trend is the award-winning artist Pharrell Williams, who is known for his bold sense of personal style. From his breakthrough minimalist and cause-oriented NMD Human Race, Pharrell went on formulating the Adidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu that was greatly influenced by the bestselling Adidas shoe of all time, the Stan Smith.

  Initial Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu kick

The initial drop of the Adidas Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu in May 2017 had the same distinct colorway as the vintage icon: Running white and green. Pharrell eliminated the premium leather material that's long been associated with the classic tennis shoe and replaced it with an extremely lightweight jersey mesh construction. Pharrell's branding is seen on the heel tab made in vibrant green. This minimalist impression is built with a cleat-like construction that sits on a clean white sole.

The American rapper teamed up with Adidas in creating an extensive catalog of sportswear products that are relevant to the times. In 2016, Adidas dropped five pairs of NMD kicks under the Hu catalog that speaks about exploring humanity and celebrating diversity globally, which was greatly inspired by Native American communities from North Dakota.

This cause-oriented project revealed Pharrell's inclination towards minimalist designs with graphics that stand out. The low-cut shoe was taken from the silhouette of the much-adored NMD with the revamped and unique lacing system where cages are positioned on the lateral and medial sides. It has different eyelet placements that offer various ways to personalize styles of lacing.

  Variations of the Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu shoes

The no-fuss, sleek, and wearable concept was applied in the Tennis Hu shoes which also had the one-of-a-kind lacing system that disregarded the use of traditional eyelets. Another colorway of the Tennis Hu was dropped following the initial release, which came in white/yellow with a gold-colored heel tab.

A lot of variations were soon released using contrasting pastel hues and solid primary colors. The Primeknit technology was utilized in another set of variations, giving the Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu a cutting-edge style with a very breathable cover.

Several other variations of the Adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu shoes were released in jersey mesh material in a ventilated slip-on construction. The designs include a variety of summer/spring contrasting color accents on the heel tab and high wear regions in the outsole. Furthermore, full colorways done in pastel shades under the Icons Pack were released in the Fall of 2017, while the Tennis Hu Solid Pack was dropped as well in eye-catching bold mesh uppers.

Nice to know

  • The Tennis Hu sneakers also come in Primeknit upper, from the traditional Stan Smith colorway to multicolored engineered knitted ones. The Primeknit edition is available at a higher price tag than the mesh variety.
  • Reality TV icon Kendall Jenner was spotted a couple of times wearing the Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu. She was seen in Los Angeles clad in the original colorway of Running Green/White.
  • Singer Justin Bieber was seen in Manchester, England in Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu sneaker.
  • American singer-songwriter Usher was noticed clad in the Pharrell Williams Tennis Hu Pastel Pack.
  • American hip-hop artist Swiss Beatz was spotted wearing a Tennis Hu Primeknit.

Facts / Specs

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Danny McLoughlin

Danny McLoughlin

Danny is a sports nut with a particular interest in football and running. He loves to watch sports as much as he loves to play. Danny was lead researcher on RunRepeat and The PFA's report into Racial Bias in Football Commentary. His football and running research has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, New York Times and Washington Post.