Stylish Collab
Adidas and Malbon team up on Bing Crosby-inspired golf apparel and footwear release
Bing Crosby’s legacy puts him at icon status is many ways. In addition to having a major influence on the music, radio and television industries during his 50-year career, he was an avid golfer and left a major impact on the golf world. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am actually started out as a play day for celebrities and pro golfers hosted by Crosby to raise money for charity and a reason for one of his legendary clambakes. The clambakes were a who’s who of golf and Hollywood in the late 1930s, and it was photographs of these events that inspired designers at adidas golf and Malbon to create a collaborative collection ahead of the PGA Tour event that many nostalgic golf fans still refer to as the Crosby Clambake. The limited edition capsule is available now on the Malbon and adidas websites, here's a full look at the Crosby-inspired golf apparel and shoe release.
The men’s collection is highlighted by a cardigan inspired by a poster designers found from one of the early Clambakes. With a yellow and white colorblocked design, the four-button sweater includes imagery reminiscent of Pebble Beach’s cypress trees, a retro-outfitted version of Malbon's Buckets logo swinging a golf club at the chest and the Malbon X adidas co-branded patch at the lower pocket.
“We wanted to create pieces based on the rich catalog that golf fashion gave us in the 30s and 40s along with what we saw in old photographs from Bing’s famous Clambakes,” Dylan Moore, creative director, adidas Golf said. “The entire collection is an ode to what golf and fashion became at that time in history but also celebrates how those same characteristics and fashion styles from that time still live on with golfers today.”
Left to right: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Frank Sinatra play golf. (1/28/1944-Hollywood, CA)
Bettmann
For men, the collection also includes a yellow preppy lightweight sport coat, button-down polos, pleated trousers, shorts and crewnecks. A T-shirt featuring a clam decanter is another fun, highly-anticipated addition to the collab. Each year, a unique decanter was designed for players to take home from the Crosby Clambake.
On the women’s side, the polos in the line have a boxier cut with slightly larger sleeves, to align with the 1930s look the collection is going for. The retro color-blocked dress and checkered anorak will no doubt be a hit with modern female golfers, and the culotte pant is one trend in the fashion world that is ready for its golf debut.
Two exclusive footwear styles from adidas will also be released with this collaboration, including a vintage-styled version of the Stan Smith golf shoe and a kiltie-covered gold and navy version of the old-meets-new MC87 golf shoe.
“With this collection, we wanted to pay tribute to the essence of golf and fashion by taking old silhouettes and modernizing them,” Malbon co-founder Stephen Malbon said. “[The] iconic Crosby Clambake was a perfect celebration of the timeless connection between style, sport, and camaraderie that reflects our brand's ethos.”
Portrait of, from left, American actor Dean Martin, singer Bing Crosby, and comedian Groucho Marx, pose together next to a golf cart on a course, Palm Springs, California, early 1954. (Photo by Gene Lester/Getty Images)
Gene Lester