Since the great Adidas Stan Smith revival of the last few years, spurred by new celebrity endorsements and intentional scarcity on Adidas’ part, a number of writers have tried to pin down the sneakers’ appeal. Stan Smith (and NY Times writer Troy Patterson) gets it.
It is unpretentious footwear for potentially pretentious feet.
The
simple white leather shoe is a blank slate. ”It’s like a canvas in a
way,” Smith says. The structure accommodates cosmetic variation, and
thus the shoe is suited to the sort of special-edition treatment that is
the artisanal bread and whole-fat butter of contemporary sneaker
merchandising. Moreover, this blank slate is appealing for the very
purity of its blankness, a perpetually refreshing austerity that makes a
strong claim for the universal chic of minimalism.
-Pete (h/t Casey)