The adidas ZX line began a success story in 1984 that continues over 25 years later. As with most of today's popular sneaker silhouettes, the focus of the adidas ZX line was initially on the athletic performance of the shoe. Jacques Chassaing was responsible for the original design of the ZX line at the time. The very first shoe in the line was launched in 1984 as part of the revolutionary adidas ZX Running concept. The core theme of this concept was to combine three of the most important criteria for runners on one silhouette: cushioning, stability and leading. The first shoe in this line was the adidas ZX 500, and today this is still arguably one of the most legendary adidas shoes of all time. In the years that followed, numerous other ZX running releases followed. The next particularly defining year for the adidas ZX line was 1989, when the launch of the ZX 4000 series established a completely new design concept. One of the most significant changes was the introduction of a special heel support, the so-called "heel cap". This is still used today in many silhouettes of the brand with the three stripes. Another milestone at the time was the use of the Torsion system on a shoe in the ZX line. The Torsion system is a kind of ultra-light bridge that connects the forefoot to the heel. In this way, the Torsion system stabilizes the entire foot, giving the runner extra stability. A true revolution in running technology and absolutely unique. The subsequent models are still firmly part of the great ZX repertoire today and legendary shoes like the adidas ZX 8000 Aqua inevitably wrote sneaker history.