Menace Turns the Adistar Control 5 Into a Heat Map

Menace's Heat Signature Adistar Control 5 is at least the third shoe Steven Mena's Los Angeles label has made with adidas, and the photographer who shot it after ComplexCon, a fellow Salvadoran, says knowing Mena was behind it made the moment better. The shoe arrives Tuesday, October 27, in a thermal camera gradient laid over Collegiate Purple, for the label's 13th anniversary.

A Heat Map Across the Toe and Side Panels

The Heat Signature colorway borrows the look of a thermal camera image. A gradient runs from the toecap around the side panels, with orangish red at the edges according to launch coverage, while another outlet describes the heat map as moving between white, yellow and red. Black overlays with a subtle color shifting finish sit over the brighter zones, and Collegiate Purple covers much of the surrounding upper and the midsole. The style code is LB0086.

Reports on the date conflict. Just Fresh Kicks cites an October 20 press release from Menace and adidas Originals that set the release for October 27 at $180, through the Menace website, the adidas CONFIRMED app and select retailers. Sneaker Bar Detroit and a Stadium Goods listing carried October 20. Earlier coverage had said only Holiday 2026, so the October 27 date is the latest of the three.

The anniversary matters to the design. Mena founded Menace in Los Angeles in 2013, and Heat Signature marks its 13th year, which makes the thermal print a birthday shoe and not a seasonal colorway.

Superstar 82 in October 2025, Old Rose in May, Now a Runner

The partnership has an order to it. The first Menace and adidas Superstar 82 appeared in October 2025. The Old Rose Superstar 82, style code KJ3009, followed on May 10, 2026 at $180 through adidas CONFIRMED and the Menace website, in an all over shaggy suede with paisley stitching, patchwork and chain stitched Three Stripes. The color came from Mena's mother, whose favorite shade it was; he has said he called her to ask, and her answer became the design foundation.

Old Rose launched with a Mother's Day weekend flower shop pop up in Los Angeles on May 9. The Adistar Control 5 is a stability runner, and it has become a frequent base this year. Hardies' Aurora Ruby version went on sale October 3 in style code HQ5289. Menace is the second label in under a month to rebuild the same shoe.

The jump from a suede court shoe to a runner is the argument the colorway makes. The Superstar 82 carried a color story about Mena's mother; the Control 5 carries a gradient. For a label celebrating 13 years, the choice puts the anniversary on the sole and not on a lifestyle classic.

Oscar Castillo Photographed It Twice

The photographer Oscar Castillo is the clearest outside voice on what the pair means, and he says he first saw it in person at ComplexCon. "first caught these in person at complexcon," he wrote. "little did i know the photos i took that day would end up making their rounds across the internet."

He describes a second session after a pair reached him: "when a pair eventually made its way into my hands, i had to photograph them again. this time, on my own terms." The reason is personal. Castillo calls Mena "a fellow salvi," a Salvadoran, and says that knowing so made the moment better.

Castillo is not a bystander to adidas. He says "some of adidas' biggest athlete campaigns have my fingerprints on them," with years of work seen around the world and many stories behind the lens that he has kept to himself. Seeing another Salvadoran in the industry making his mark makes the collaboration feel "a little more personal," in his words.

His summary is one line: "different sides of the industry, same roots." The shoe sits on that line. Mena built a label from Los Angeles, Castillo built a career shooting for the brand that now makes Mena's shoe, and the thermal print is what a camera reads when it measures heat.

What the October 27 Date Settles

By October 27 the thermal pair has a date, a price and a retail path, and the 13th anniversary frames it. What stays open is the quantity. None of the coverage found says how many pairs adidas made or whether the select retailers will carry full size runs.

The colorway has been seen since ComplexCon, and it reaches stores as at least the third Menace and adidas shoe. Its style code is LB0086, and its release date, according to the most recent report, is Tuesday.