THE NEXT 50 YEARS
While adidas and Smith have no plans to lay off the gas, they’ve begun thinking about what’s next for their partnership. Dozens of plans are surely “under wraps,” but both the German sportswear behemoth and American living legend have been vocal about their goal of making the Stan Smith more sustainable.
The current standard version of the shoe features a PRIMEGREEN upper and recycled rubber sole unit, both components rooted in the company’s END PLASTIC WASTE initiative. In addition to helping the environment with the sneakers themselves, the boxes in which the pair arrives has been updated through a sustainable lens, comprising more than 90% recycled paper. Visually, the decades-old product maintains the same look that’s helped make it a timeless style, but the Three Stripes and Smith’s commitment to a greener planet has achieved true timelessness as Stan Smiths can be recycled to create new product.
Away from the partnership’s sustainability efforts, the adidas Stan Smith continues to tap some of the most creative and influential figures in the world for compelling updates. Playful styles by everyone from Kermit the Frog and The Muppets to South Park’s Stan Marsh keep the decades-old design feeling young, while refined looks by size?, for example, demonstrate the shoe’s DNA will shine regardless.
Today, the man with his face on the tennis shoe has settled in Hilton Head, South Carolina. On December 7th, 2018, the American icon was awarded a lifetime deal with the Three Stripes, ensuring his name and likeness will endure the test of time. Some people think he’s a shoe – and he is – but Stan Smith is also so much more.
