adidas Taekwondo Mei: 2026 Colorways, Prices, SKUs
The adidas Taekwondo Mei is the ballet-sneaker breakout of 2026, a thin-soled shoe that borrows from dance flats and soccer cleats at the same time. Prices start at $90, and the lineup now stretches from plain black pairs to a floral Liberty London collab.
What you need to know
- Price: $90 for the standard Mei Ballet, around $110 for the satin Mei Elite, $120 for the F50 animal-print line
- Look: thin sculptural rubber sole, asymmetric lacing pulled from adidas cleats like the Predator
- Materials: satin leather, suede, and metallic finishes depending on the pair
- Where to buy: adidas.com, with select pairs at Liberty London and resale on GOAT
- Style codes: JQ0669, JQ6438, JR7031, JQ3012, JR1827, IH1331
What the Taekwondo Mei actually is
The Mei sits inside adidas's 2026 thin-sole push, alongside the brand's wider ballet-core moment. The build is the hook: a low, sculptural rubber sole and an asymmetric lace setup lifted straight from soccer cleats. Highsnobiety described the all-black Elite as "a goth ballerina's dream," which captures the split personality. It reads as a dance flat from the side and a stripped-down cleat up close. That dual coding is why it has spread past performance buyers and into everyday rotations.
Colorways and prices
The standard Mei Ballet is the entry point at $90. Confirmed 2026 pairs include Black Gum (JQ0669, released April 24, 2026), White (JQ6438), and two all-black versions (JR7031 and JQ3012). The satin-leather Mei Elite steps up to roughly $110, with the Gold Metallic Elite landing as JR1827. adidas has also run a Taekwondo F50 spin in Dragon, Leopard, Tiger, and Wolf prints at $120 each. If you collect by silhouette, log the style code per pair, since the Mei and Mei Elite share a name but not a price or a sole finish.
The Liberty London collab
The standout is the Liberty London x adidas capsule. It pairs the Mei Ballet with the Gazelle Bold and Samba across four pieces, and the Mei version (style IH1331) gets a sheer floral upper plus extended ribbon laces. It launched at overseas adidas webstores first, so US stock has trailed the international drop. For collectors, the floral pairs are the ones most likely to hold attention later. See our take on how to spot sneaker trends, and for more adidas drops, the Coca-Cola collection and the Kith x Messi football capsule.