According to Wales Bonner, Adidas Superstars are very much back
Wales Bonner's new collection with Adidas features the shell-toe throwbacks. So yes, you can dust yours off â or try to grab a new pair before they sell out
BACK IN FEBRUARY, this sneakerhead predicted an Adidas Superstar renaissance in an article centred on the collaboration between The Three Stripes and Edison Chen, founder of streetwear label Clot. (I also made mention of the Shell Toes designed by burgeoning London-based label Always Do What You Should Do, as well as those made in the image of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.) A month later, I visited the Adidas HQ in Herzogenaurach, Germany (as part of a press trip for the relaunch of the SL 72, which you can read all about right here), where I decided to test my theory.
“Is the Superstar your next big focus?” I asked Matthias Amm, the Senior Director of Product, as the rest of the group was exiting the ‘Makers Lab’. âMaybe,â he replied coyly, with a giggle that suggested he was excited about what was on the horizon. âWeâre always re-looking at our iconic models,â he continued. âThereâs some cool stuff on its way.â
He was right: months later, several very cool, very covetable Superstars were unveiled at Paris Fashion Week Men’s (the one just been and gone). And so was I: an Adidas Superstar renaissance is most certainly afoot.
Wales Boner x Adidas Originals Winter 2024
Which brings us to Wales Bonner’s newest collection with Adidas Originals. With first look images by photographer Renell Medrano just revealed, it’s confirmed a Bonner-ified version of the Adidas Superstar will be included in the zeitgeisty designer’s Autumn/Winter collab with the sportswear brand. Because everything the London-based designer touches turning to gold (we have her to thank for the comeback of the Adidas Samba), she’s certainly capable of making the masses pine for a model that had its most recent peak in the mid-2010s, when we were still very much wearing skinny-leg jeans.
Wales Bonner debuted a version of the Superstar on the runway at Paris Fashion Week. Two of the designer’s models donned high-top editions of the sneaker: one in a beigey-grey leather, one in a buttery brown suede. As usual, the designer was inspired by the sneaker’s genesis. Basketball, in the case of the Superstar: the first pairs were designed with some height to support a player’s ankles as they trained and played on the court.
While those high-top versions haven’t been included in this new collection (it’s likely they were only made for the runway), a pair of Superstars take pride of place. But these aren’t any old shell toes; Bonner has given them a glow-up by adding a leather upper that’s embossed with a croc-like texture, while the black three stripes are also decked out in shiny croc. On the tongue and heel, Adidas’ branding comes in gold foiling, which the aglets â which, I just learned, are the little metal or plastic bits that seal the end of a shoe lace â are also gold.
The collection also includes croc scale-embossed leather Sambas in tan and navy, as well as two versions of the sportier MN Sambas in two-tone. As per her previous outings with the brand, there’s also apparel on offer.
According to Adidas, this collection “merges tradition with modernity in a celebration of hip-hop movement and romanticism. Music and creative vibrancy are threaded into the collection through the textures, shapes and colours across the pieces.”
The new Adidas Originals by Wales Bonner collection goes on sale Thursday October 24 (there’s currently a countdown ticker on the Adidas website, if you’d really like to keep tabs). Fair word of warning: the Superstars are priced much higher than your regular Adidas stock, at $420.
Worth it for the clout.
Wales Bonner Superstar Shoes
A version of this story originally appeared on Esquire UK.
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