White sneaks have had their time but we’re ready to call it. Sure, we love a good tennis silhouette, but we also value our individuality. The moment Céline designer Phoebe Philo took a bow in her white Adidas Stan Smiths, we, along with the rest of the world it seems, fell in love. Five years and an ungodly number of Stan Smiths later (Adidas has reportedly sold 40 million pairs of the shoe since they first hit the market in 1963 but won’t reveal how many of those sales happened post-2014 Philo-inspired relaunch), our souls and soles are weary.
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Yet again, Adidas is here to rescue us from our sartorial slump, this time with the help of another fashion frontrunner — the one and only Kate Moss. Miraculously resurrected from her Absolutely Fabulous death, the British supermodel is the face of Adidas’ newly reissued Gazelles. When you’ve been in the game as long as Moss has, you don’t even need to sit and snap a photo to star in a campaign. All it takes is signing off on the use of an archive image of your trailblazing self lounging in said classic kicks, a little help from digital artist slash provocateur Doug Abraham (aka @bessnyc4) and you’re good to go.
Image: Denzil McNeelance, 1993
The new, collaged, Tumblr-ready Gazelle ads riff on a photo of Moss taken back in 1993. In it, the supermodel sits cross-legged on a couch that is draped with a golden damask sheet. Her elbow is propped on her knee, her head leaning against her hand, her thumb poised against her teeth, waiting to be chewed. The icon wears a simple black straight-cut tank, black trousers, a two-tiered choker and crimson Gazelles. Her low-key ensemble and ultra-casual repose contrasts but somehow doesn’t conflict with her gilded surroundings. To take in Abraham’s trippy, genius take on the vintage snap, watch the video above.
Image: Doug Abraham/Adidas
“Like the Gazelle, Kate Moss is just as relevant in 2016 as she was back in the 1990s, which is why the image works so well,” Adidas brand consultant and curator Gary Aspden told Business of Fashion. “Kate told me earlier this year that when it comes to trainers she has always been an ‘Adidas girl,’ so there was an affinity and an existing synergy there.”
Much like their uncle Stan, Gazelles feature a clean, understated silhouette and affordable price tag ($80). The suede sports shoes come in 12 different colorways (including our beloved summer pastels) and are available now at Adidas.com. Something tells us stocks won’t last long.
