Adidas transforms ‘Tsinghua purple’ into retail gold

What happened Adidas' capsule collection with Tsinghua University became an overnight sensation on April 22, with multiple items selling out within 24 hours of launch. Available only at the university’s official retail store, named Tsinghua Impressions, the limited-edition line in black and eggplant purple includes T-shirts, caps, waist bags, and backpacks, with prices ranging from 129 RMB to 899 RMB ($18 to $125). Design-wise, the collection merges Adidas' iconic three stripes with Tsinghua's signature purple — known as "Tsinghua Purple" — as well as the university's emblem, resulting in products that balance contemporary style with the institution's identity. Several items sold out within a day. Categories such as hoodies, track jackets, and both long- and short-sleeved shirts are now marked as "restocking" on Tsinghua Impressions’ WeChat mini program. According to users on Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), many consumers scheduled campus visits to purchase the co-branded merchandise from the university's on-campus store, with some even turning to students to help them acquire the items — a clear reflection of the collection’s popularity. The Jing Take For many youth in China, Tsinghua University represents the cream of the crop of China's top universities. Many students dream of becoming a prestigious "Tsinghua graduate." As one of China’s elite institutions, Tsinghua University is more than just a symbol of scholastic excellence — it’s viewed as a cultural icon for its strengths in engineering, science, and architecture. It's little surprise, then, that the recent collaboration between Adidas and Tsinghua sparked an emotional response among Chinese netizens. The limited-edition collection resonated deeply with students and alumni, but its impact extended far beyond campus walls. The pairing of an elite Chinese university with a global athletic giant proved irresistible to consumers seeking both symbolic value and fashion-forward appeal. For Adidas, the partnership offered an efficient entry point into the campus ecosystem — a kind of “contextual branding” rooted in academic pride and youthful aspiration. The products serve as wearable credentials, quietly reinforcing the brand’s relevance among tomorrow’s affluent consumers. From university legacy to retail innovation For Tsinghua, the collaboration signaled something broader: trend-based university merchandising. By merging its storied academic legacy with the language of streetwear, the university found a scalable model for cultural commercialization — one that other schools are no doubt watching closely. Not all such experiments, however, strike the same chord. While Adidas x Tsinghua items flew off the shelves, another collection — a lower-profile collaboration between Tsinghua and Chinese sportswear brand Anta — elicited a more muted response. The Anta series, which included polos, jackets, and backpacks priced around 300 RMB ($40), failed to generate the same buzz. The contrast is telling: aligning with a prestigious university is no guarantee of commercial success. In an age of hyper-brand awareness, it takes more than access — it takes cultural synergy. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

Adidas transforms ‘Tsinghua purple’ into retail gold

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Published April 25, 2025

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Adidas transforms ‘Tsinghua purple’ into retail gold