The 18th generation of adidas Predator is expected to drop anytime now, and it looks like Jude Bellingham has confirmed the launch colourway, wearing them in Borussia Dortmund’s DFB-Pokal loss to FC St. Pauli yesterday.
It’s no surprise that there’s a new instalment in the Predator franchise expected anytime now. The prototype has been doing the rounds for a while now, and the initial look of the blackout book suggested that it was taking more than a smidge of inspiration from the Predator LZ. A quick glance at a coloured version on the feet of Sao Paulo’s Diego Costa this week suggested that it would also follow suit in terms of launch colour, and now that’s all but been confirmed, with Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham wearing them in his side’s latest match.
Bellingham was one of the players spotted testing the prototype back in October, offering one of the first looks at the next generation of the iconic silo, and now he’s back in them, showing off what has to be the launch colourway. It’s interesting to see him in the Predator, as he’s been a COPA man until now. It could be argued that the Predator line has been lacking the characters it once boasted – the likes of Zidane, Beckham, Kaka – and so adding some new blood, particularly some as exciting as England man Bellingham, makes a lot of sense.
The next-generation Predator which will be available in laceless, laced and a low-cut options, is set to arrive with a dramatic re-design. The famed Demonskin rubber spikes that have provided that legendary ball control and spin since the Predator 19 will be replaced in favour of a new technology upper that looks to take inspiration from the Predator Lethal Zones (LZ) series, which was launched ten years ago – a fitting tribute to its tenth anniversary. But if you think that the technology hasn’t moved on since 2012, then you’re sorely mistaken. Think of this then more as homage rather than recreation or rerelease; the thought process and design input behind the LZ was sound after all, placing the ribbed rubber tech in the specific zones, as the DemonSkin spikes did also.
The 2012 adidas Predator Lethal Zones caused a bit of uproar upon their launch as adidas opted for a launch colourway that was a step away from the traditional colour combination of "Black/White/Red" – it was deliberate move to highlight the 5 Lethal Zones on the boot, which consisted of strategically positioned areas of rubber to help improve ball control: First Touch, Dribble, Sweet Spot, Drive and Pass. And the new Predator looks like it will follow suit, much to the annoyance of those purists out there. But maybe, 10 years on and following the Mutator and Freak, people will be more accepting of this latest look.
Watch this space for the official launch...
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