Adidas Originals has launched a new, premium label that celebrates its heritage with the debut of A-Type. The collection reimagines its famous designs in much finer materials with a higher level of craftsmanship.

And it’s not meant to be just an homage to its archive or a slightly elevated offer. The high-end materials and artisanal manufacturing really do elevate it from mere sports or every day pieces into true luxury.

Adidas is talking about an “artisanal” offer put together in “outstanding ateliers” with pricing of around $1,500 for a leather track jacket.

Not that pricing is hugely relevant at present because for now, it’s something not on general release and only ‘friends and family’ can get their hands on the products. But A-Type will likely be available more widely with future releases.

It’s as if the German sports giant has decided that, after years of high-end designer collabs, it can do true luxury on its own based purely on its proprietary design codes. Its designer link-ups will continue, however.

A-Type’s first offer focuses on a monochrome palette for the Superstar sneaker (no surprise there given its icon status), as well as the Firebird tracksuit and Airliner bag.

The A-Type Superstar is handmade in Italy using premium leather, and comes complete with cashmere shoelaces with silver-plated lace tips. The shoes also come in a moulded box with wooden shoe trees and white gloves — yes, Adidas really is taking this project to high-end extremes.

The Firebird (including top, pants and shorts) harks back to the style of the product’s 1980s launch but also features premium leather materials and handcrafted details and there are cashmere-blended T-shirts to add an extra luxe edge.

The bag, meanwhile, looks back to the 1970s original and reinvents it in supple leather with premium hardware for both large and small sizes.

To underscore the luxury element of all this, Adidas has also included sterling silver Trefoil jewellery in the mix with pendants, rings, and earrings.

It’s all supported by a campaign featuring Pusha T, Tyshawn Jones, Selena Forrest, Fiffany Luu, Paloma Elsesser, and DJ Hank Korsa.

It’s significant that the line was launched during such a high-profile event as New York Fashion Week but that, of course, attracted the ire of campaign group PETA. As well as targeting Coach during NYFW, the group protested about Adidas using “tormented ostriches and other animals”. Its president Ingrid Newkirk said: “PETA is calling on Adidas to step away from leather and stick to the wonderful cruelty-free vegan materials it already offers.”