Pharrell Williams & Adidas Revive the Chunky Sneaker With the VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish

When Pharrell Williams teams up with adidas, the sneaker world stops and pays attention. Since their partnership kicked off in 2014, the duo has delivered some of the most forward-thinking designs in sneaker culture — and the upcoming VIRGINIA adistar Jellyfish might just be sneaker of the year.

From the jump, this sneaker has been one of the most anticipated drops of 2025. Pharrell has always lived at the intersection of music, fashion and design, and the Jellyfish proves he’s still pushing boundaries, despite what people may think. Debuting at Paris Fashion Week back in January, this shoe instantly threw the sneaker world into a frenzy. From sneaker Twitter to the sneaker blogs, all posts pointed to Pharrell. The community fell in love with the sneaker’s sculptural midsole, and then the Clipse co-sign made this shoe impossible to ignore.

The silhouette takes cues from the fluidity of a jellyfish, with an exaggerated midsole meant to echo floating gills. A layered mesh upper, exoskeletal side panels, and subtle “VIRGINIA” branding add futuristic dimension. Pharrell’s storytelling goes deeper than aesthetics, the campaign reimagines a fictional coral reef, spotlighting the fragility and beauty of marine ecosystems without disturbing the real thing.

It’s avant-garde but wearable: nature-inspired, fashion-forward, and a reimagining of adidas’ performance heritage with lifestyle flair. People have compared it to Balenciaga’s Triple S, but let’s be real, the Jellyfish does everything the Triple S tried to do, only cleaner and with actual story and intention behind it.

What makes this release even more intriguing is the timing. By most accounts, chunky sneakers or “dad shoes” have been considered “dead.” The oversized, heavy silhouettes that dominated starting around 2016–2017, think Balenciaga’s Triple S or the adidas Yeezy Boost 700, have largely given way to thinner, sleeker models like Bad Bunny’s Ballerinas, Puma’s Speedcat, A$AP Rocky’s Puma Mostros and the ever-present adidas Samba.

So for adidas to bring out a sneaker that feels like a direct callback to that bulky era is a bold move. Personally, I love the shoe and clearly a lot of the sneaker community does too, which raises the possibility: maybe chunky sneakers aren’t as dead as we thought. And if they are? Leave it to Skateboard P to breathe life back into them. The real test will be whether this style resonates with the mainstream sneaker consumer or stays within the culture’s inner circle.

The launch colorway, a mix of white, orange and black, is set to drop August 23rd. But we’ve already seen multiple other looks leak, including all-black, white/black/silver, and a clean white/blue/black. The Clipse (Pusha T & Malice) were spotted in pairs during their Paris Fashion Week takeover — and it wasn’t just a flex, it tied directly to Pharrell’s world. He also produced the duo’s massively anticipated fourth album Let God Sort ’Em Out, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

Retailing at $300, the Jellyfish comes with a hefty price tag. Honestly, I expected these to come in at $180–$200. But when you factor in design innovation, material costs, R&D and Pharrell’s creative reach, especially now that he’s also Creative Director of Louis Vuitton Men’s, the number starts to make sense. This isn’t just for the average sneakerhead, it’s aimed at both adidas fans and Pharrell’s luxury audience.

For me, this is a major FLEX. I’ve been locked in since Pharrell first teased them seven months ago. The design, the story, the Clipse connection, the exaggerated midsole, everything about this sneaker just feels different. It’s rare to get a shoe that truly blends art, tech, and cultural energy without feeling gimmicky, but the Jellyfish does exactly that.

So yeah — I’m copping.

But now we want to hear from you: Flex, Trade, or Fade? Will you add the VIRGINIA adistar Jellyfish to your rotation, hold for trade value, or skip entirely? Drop your take in the comments.