Almost Adidas

The only shoes I’ve worn for years are adidas Superstars. This was true before the anniversary campaign welded them to the feet of every person in Berlin who wanted to look like they had taste. What I love about them, and about Stan Smiths, is the honesty of the silhouette—no flourish, no announcement. Shell toe, three stripes, done.

So I had to sit with myself for a moment when I saw the BAPE STA from A Bathing Ape. The proportions are right. Big white sole, clean leather, pale laces. And where adidas puts three stripes, this one puts a star—gold or silver—that should read as too much but somehow doesn’t. It announces itself and then immediately undercuts the announcement. Minimal, but with one piece of ego left in.

The Japanese label has been making these since the early nineties, and the BAPE STA has always occupied that interesting space between tribute and original—a shoe that references everything without directly copying anything. The result could pull someone clean away from their adidas or Nike allegiance. You can find them through Undefeated, or from that fifteen-year-old streetwear dealer who always has better clothes than you and will never let you forget it. The little shit.