Stories
A Visit to Hermanos Koumori's CDMX with adidas
When Alex Leon and Alex Sandler started Hermanos Koumori 8 years ago, they only dreamed of launching a global collection with adidas. We traveled last week to see their studio, learn about the collection, and get a peek into their design process. What we learned is that this duo is incredibly people- and community-oriented. For years, we’ve carried their pieces at Renegade Running. Now, we're honored to help launch their newest collaboration with adidas, anchored by a reimagined Ultraboost 5, and an impeccably designed apparel line.
The Hermanos Koumori office is housed in an old textile factory, now called La Laguna, that has been reimagined as a hub for creative companies to work alongside each other. Inside, there is an art installation by Marina Abramović in conjunction with resident design studio La Metropoliana, alongside Buno, a favorite coffee roaster that supplies beans to the top restaurants throughout the city.
Talking with Alex and Alex, what struck us most wasn’t just the collection — it was the philosophy behind it. Alex Leon, H.Koumori’s creative director, talked about his love of architecture. But more than buildings, he is inspired by the architects who design them. That idea — people first, design second — lives inside every piece in this collection. Alex Sandler expressed how meaningful it is to have a dream, and to have a community dreaming it and seeing it realized with you. It mirrors our own approach at Renegade: clothing that speaks to a runner’s reality, a creative’s point of view, and the rhythm within a place. Just like the communities we serve, Hermanos Koumori builds from the inside out.
I think it's beautiful when you have a dream and you get to have it become a reality, but when you have your friends and your community and they are also excited that it happened, it's a beautiful feeling.
- Alex Sandler
For the celebration of the collaboration, our group traveled to Xochimilco, a UNESCO world heritage site, for brunch. We traveled in kayaks through the system of canals connecting floating gardens created by the Xochimilca people around 900AD to a working regenerative farm. When we arrived, we were greeted with cafe de olla and a tour of the farm; our guide spoke about ancient agricultural practices, and about how being in Xochimilco grounds her and connects her to her ancestry, and to the ecosystem that she is a part of. It was clear why Alex and Alex chose to launch at this place; to them, running is not just exercise or about fitness, it is about connecting with places, with people, and with yourself.
This drop means a lot to us. It's a bridge between cities and countries, between designers who think about movement and meaning in the same breath. And it’s one more example of how running culture is being reimagined, and how collaborations between big and small brands can work. It gives us hope for running, and for a global community of runners bound together by a collective imagination.
Alex’s favorite architects:
Augustin Hernandez (Pin Up Article)
Francisco Serrano (Architectural Digest Mexico y Latinoamerica profile)
Felix Candela (Rethinking the Future Profile)