Reebok x Full Circle Berlin with DeadHYPE
Full Circle Berlin: Born Classic. Made Your Own.
What happens when a Classic gets passed on to a new generation? It gets reworked, customised, worn differently and given a story of its own.
What is Reebok Full Circle?
That reimagining is the idea behind Reebok Full Circle, a community-led cultural hub celebrating the people, movements and creativity that have kept Reebok Classics in the mix for more than four decades.
Following its launch at The Vinyl Factory in London earlier this year, Reebok Full Circle touched down in Berlin on 10 October, continuing a tradition of celebrating creativity and innovation in the city and bringing together local creatives, hands-on workshops, archive icons, music and contemporary style for a day built around making Classics your own.
In partnership with Berlin creative collective deadHYPE and Zalando, the event built on Reebok’s Born Classic. Worn For Life. platform, creating a space to connect, collaborate and get creative, with plenty of opportunities to put a personal spin on the Classics.
Made to be Reimagined
At the heart of Full Circle Berlin were three creative workshops, giving visitors the chance to get hands-on with Reebok Classics.
The workshops were curated with deadHYPE, a Berlin-based creative collective known for bringing together different corners of the city’s music, fashion, art and design communities. Its approach is rooted in collaboration and creating opportunities for emerging voices, making it a natural partner for an event built around the idea of putting your own spin on a Classic. The vibe? Less showroom, more creative playground.
The Three Workshops
Sneaker and clothing customisation was the thread running through the day—but rather than simply looking at customisation from the sidelines, guests could get involved in the workshops, experiment with different techniques and create something completely personal.
Sneaker engraving: For anyone curious about custom sneakers, this workshop was a chance to get hands-on with sneaker customisation, engraving a personal mark directly onto a pair of Reebok Classics that wouldn’t appear on any other pair. From the iconic Freestyle Hi to Workout Plus shoes, participants left with one-of-a-kind, custom sneakers, personalised entirely by them.
Airbrushing: This workshop was all about getting creative with airbrushing techniques to transform Reebok clothing with participants’ own designs and finishes. Think customisation without a rulebook or even guidelines, and slogans on t-shirts (one of our faves: ‘Swag pays my bills’ in black on a white Reebok t-shirt) – giving everyone the chance to experiment and create something uniquely theirs.
Cutting, distressing and reworking apparel: We’re familiar with upcycling, and this workshop took those principles to rework pieces to create new silhouettes and details.
The take-home message? A Classic doesn’t have to stay as it was – sometimes all it needs is your own twist.
A Legacy of Reinvention
Reebok’s archive also took center stage, with an exhibition of six standout footwear collaborations showing just how far a Classic can be pushed, from unexpected materials to entirely new constructions, when someone decides to reinterpret it.
Across four decades, Reebok silhouettes have moved well beyond their original sporting purpose. Artists, designers and cultural innovators have reinterpreted iconic silhouettes throughout the brand’s history – and then reinterpreted them again.
The Six Archive Collaborations
Reebok Freestyle Hi x Kate Knudsen, 1985-1990
Multidisciplinary artist Kate Knudsen created one-off Freestyle Hi shoes for some of the most recognisable names of the era, including Whoopi Goldberg and Elton John. Each pair was hand-painted and embellished with everything from fur and charms to spurs, based on the personality of the wearer. In 1989, three of Knudsen’s prototypes were produced, bringing her creativity directly to the market: Give a Dog a Bone, Bowl-a-Rama, and Cow.
Maison Margiela × Reebok Classic Leather Tabi, 2021
In 2021, two classics met: Reebok Classic Leather, first introduced in 1983, and the Tabi by Maison Margiela, the house’s signature split-toe shoe originally launched in 1988 and inspired by traditional Japanese footwear design. And rather than simply cutting the tabi detail into an existing shoe, the classic leather was entirely rebuilt, retaining the familiar Reebok profile, with an unmistakably Margiela intervention.
Reebok Instapump Fury × Concepts, 2014
Reebok’s inflatable fit system – its pump technology – was first launched in 1994 with the Instapump Fury and felt years ahead of its time, with an asymmetric, sculpted upper, cut-out details and panels. for the silhouette’s 20th anniversary, Reebok handed the shoe to Concepts, the Boston retailer, to reinterpret. The result? An unapologetically maximalist, custom print of gold tones and Baroque-inspired iconography, framed by a bright blue inflatable cage and flashes of pink. A bold original, strong enough to take on an even bolder interpretation.
Reebok Workout Plus × Jean-Michel Basquiat, 2012
From 2009 to 2013, Reebok partnered with the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, bringing the iconic New York artist's work to Reebok Classics across multiple seasons. For this 2012 Workout Plus, Basquiat’s crown – one of his most recognisable symbols – appeared in black, while the white leather, midfoot strap and profile, remained largely untouched, proof that one confident artist mark is enough to make the Classic something entirely its own. Basquiat’s name appears in his own lettering at the heel.
Reebok Instapump Fury x Hender Scheme Manual Industrial Products 15, 2016
More than two decades after the Reebok Instapump Fury was first launched, Japanese label Hender Scheme took that distinctive perforamnce silhouette and reconsidered it through an entirely different language: traditional leather craft. Part of designer Ryo Kashiwazaki’s Manual Industrial Products series, MIP-15 replaces the original’s technical panels, cut-outs and sculpted form with something warmer, quieter and deliberately crafted. The end result turns an icon of industrial sneaker design into something more personal.
Alicia Keys × Reebok Freestyle Hi Wedge, 2013
Growing up in New York, singer Alicia Keys wore the Freestyle – known locally as the “5411” after its $54.11 price after tax – throughout her pre-teens and teens. When she began collaborating with Reebok in 2012, the Freestyle Hi was naturally one of the first classic silhouettes she wanted to revisit, changing its proportions and introducing a concealed wedge heel while retaining its double straps and recognisable upper. This version pushed the idea further with a head-to-toe red treatment, turning the shoe into a single, bold statement – one that connects something personal from Keys’ own NY story with her style as an adult artist.
Four Creatives from the deadHYPE Community
Alongside the archive, Berlin creative collective deadHYPE co-curated the workshops and put four members of its community at the centre of the campaign exhibition, all wearing 100% garment-leather Reebok Classics in their own way.
Gabriel is the graphic designer behind much of deadHYPE’s identity, from party flyers and visual identities to the layouts of its print magazine.
Scottix, meanwhile, brings the sound: the Taiwanese-born, Berlin-based DJ is a familiar face behind the decks at deadHYPE parties as he moves between electronic music, rap and hip-hop.
With roots in Hamburg, Lina is a content creator and all-round creative whose work moves fluidly and intuitively between disciplines, bringing ideas to life wherever they need to be shaped, captured or communicated.
Last but not least, Josefin is a multidisciplinary artist specialising in set design and visual storytelling. She creates environments and compositions that give ideas a distinct atmosphere and identity – that special something.
Berlin Style, Reimagined
In partnership with Zalando, Full Circle also explored the intersection of sportswear and contemporary street style.
Berlin-based stylist Irini curated six looks from Reebok’s FW26 collection, showing how the latest pieces can move beyond traditional sportswear. Three womenswear and three menswear looks mixed seasonal Reebok styles with unexpected layers, silhouettes and accessories, bringing a more individual, street-led approach to the collection.
With shoppable integrations connecting the looks directly to Zalando, the styling was designed to go from inspiration to wardrobe.
From Day to Night
As the workshops wrapped, Full Circle shifted from creative space to celebration.
With music at the centre, deadHYPE brought its community together for a party featuring friends of the collective and Berlin’s wider creative scene. On the decks were DJs Chanella, Dom Hyuga, Hanaby, Papi da Silva and, of course, Scotttix, and. the atmosphere moved naturally from making to moving—from the first customised Classic of the day to the final track of the night.
As always, a time was had.
Shop Reebok Classics
Ready to make your own? Shop Reebok Classics and start with a pair you will want to wear in, rework and keep.























