adidas Skateboarding: The Nora Collection
Having been born and raised in Pembroke, MA until the sale of her family home in 2012, it was the move to California that evidently led to Nora Vasconcellos becoming adidas’ first female pro skater. Known for her vibrant personality, infectious energy, unique skate style and love for lilac, not only does Nora bring a certain personal flare to the industry, she’s also working hard to make skateboarding accessible to all, breaking down gender barriers by inspiring others to go out and do what they love. Arriving as adidas’ first unisex line which is another milestone for the brand that perfectly captures Nora’s vision, the start of autumn sees her first capsule range of apparel and a custom 3MC footwear style which has arrived within a super limited ‘Black Pack’ available at Flatspot.
Since a young age Nora has been known as animated, goofy and creative. Inspired by the cartoon crew from Rocket Power, her upbringing included her trying out a variety of different action sports, including BMX, rollerblading and surfing whilst her father, a freelance illustrator encouraged her illustrations and paintings. What was always prominent was skateboarding, which acted as personal expression without a focus on winning or being better than any other. Nora always knew she’d be a skateboarder - a ‘no brainer’ as she recalls when her mum questioned her seriousness - but wasn’t aware that anyone would really care. Building up her skills through her pure love of the sport, it was in California that she was noticed by Jason Celaya at Welcome Skateboards which led her to working and riding for the company for four years before being signed as an amateur skater at adidas. A little while later, Welcome made her pro with her own signature deck which followed by her officially becoming adidas’ first female pro skater in 2017.
As one of the top rated skateboarders in the industry, regardless of gender, Nora continues to radiate her love and enthusiasm for skateboarding and has accompanied the adidas team on various international trips to Tokyo, New York and Japan. Acting as the female influencer she never had when growing up, this capsule is a significant release for both the brand and herself and includes genderless apparel designs inspired by Nora’s own wardrobe, accompanied by a custom 3MC footwear model that has been personalised with her own illustrations.
Built with premium black suede uppers, matching eyelets and laces and unique details such as her name embroidered on the tongue and her birth year embossed under a trefoil emblem on the back of the heel, the 3MC ‘Nora’ captures Vasconcellos’ personal style across a relaxed skate-ready profile. An additional rubber overlay strengthens the midsole whilst a Geoflex tread pattern provides grip and stability when worn on and off a board. One of Nora’s famous woodland character watercolours adorns the sockliner, acting as an additional expression that gives these 3MC’s added appeal.
Compared to the general release which offers a pastel selection of lilac-heavy styles that allow you to rep the colour as Nora would, the exclusive Black Pack provides a more refined version of each design and is available in a range of sizes to suit different shapes and unisex wear. Preppy and functional, the ‘Nora’ Chino Pant has been cut to a comfortable fit with subtle colour matched side stripes made from a durable blend of cotton and polyester, ensuring they’re good to go for both skating and casual wear. Chosen through her love for collars, the ‘Nora’ Long Sleeve Polo Shirt offers a take on a classic style with a neat collar neckline, ribbed cuffs and panelled horizontal stripe decoration complete with an embroidered trefoil emblem and a custom Nora label, whilst the ‘Nora’ Short Sleeve Polo Shirt is similar in style with a contrast collar and embroidered emblem.
Set to take part in two events for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Nora sees it as an opportunity to continue to display the industry's female ability and a chance to witness different skaters representing the mixed international community of talent. This capsule range is another addition to Vasconcellos’ progressive achievements which continually focus on having fun and doing what you love. If you want to catch more of Nora, check out her Patti limo road trip with Laura Enever and Jalessa Vincent in ‘This Way’ released earlier in the year.
The adidas 'Nora' limited capsule collection on Flatspot from Thursday, October 17th at 00:00am (BST).
Check out the adidas Skateboarding Presents Nora video below for a documentary on adidas' first female pro skater. The video includes lots of home footage including a clip of Nora receiving her first skateboard one Christmas.
Shop all adidas Skateboarding at Flatspot.
