adidas Taekwondo Mei

Taekwondo Mei

Adidas has been making martial arts footwear for many decades, and in the early 2000s, these sleek, low-profile training shoes started being adopted as everyday footwear. In honor of this quirky Y2K-era trend, adidas launched the sleek Taekwondo Mei in 2025.

The adidas Taekwondo Mei features an ultra-minimal design with a stripped-back upper made from soft, supple leather for flexible comfort and easy movement. Its laceless construction incorporates a smooth panel with a rubberized pull loop where the tongue would normally be, allowing the shoe to be effortlessly slipped on and off. The brand’s trademark 3-Stripes appear on each flank, their edges dynamically serrated.

The Taekwondo Mei also has an ultra-low-profile sole unit with a split rubber outsole that exposes the wraparound sidewall logos where they connect underneath the midfoot. Lightly etched, herringbone-style grip lines provide decent traction, while the limited use of material offers the wearer outstanding ground-feel and makes the shoe super-lightweight.

The adidas Taekwondo Mei is inspired by martial arts shoes that were designed for speed, agility and nimble-footedness. As such, it features an elegantly sophisticated look defined by the restrained use of visual adornments. Fine stitching highlights the top of the foot and heel, while the forefoot is notably free of embroidery, presenting a smooth appearance across the toe. The branding is also subtle, with adidas mountain logos on the heel, outsole and insole to go with the distinctive wraparound 3-Stripes.

Soon after releasing the Taekwondo Mei, adidas launched an even more stripped-back silhouette known as the Taekwondo Mei Ballet. Based on a traditional ballet flat, this graceful shoe has the same split rubber sole and beautifully sleek design as well as a wide opening that runs from heel to forefoot. Its wraparound 3-Stripes have smooth edges for an even more streamlined look, and its overlays comprise a slim forefoot stripe and a small, foldover branded heel tab. The Taekwondo Mei Ballet also comes with three different styles of laces in varying lengths, with a ribbon-style set for that classy ballet-inspired esthetic.

The release of the Taekwondo Mei and its Ballet variant coincided with a fashion trend for sleek retro sporting footwear. Its popularity was enhanced by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who collaborated with adidas to create the Ballerina – a similarly minimal silhouette inspired by the 2024 adidas Taekwondo. Subsequently, the Taekwondo Mei was reimagined by lifestyle brands atmos and Kith, before experimental Australian label Song for the Mute released its own unique version.

The adidas Taekwondo Mei exudes refined elegance, subtle style and graceful sophistication. Supremely lightweight and agile, its comfortable barefoot feel makes it a compelling minimalist sneaker for casual everyday use.