Raf Simons and the adidas Stan Smith go way back. The legendary Belgian designer has made the iconic Three Stripes tennis silhouette a centerpiece of his collaborative efforts for years by dressing it in premium tonal colorways, and now he’s set to take the Stan in an entirely new direction in 2019 with his new collection. Inspired by the Trompe-l’oeil — French for “deceive the eye” — painting technique, Simons has blended the Stan together with three other classic adidas silhouettes for an optical illusion that’s packed full of Trefoil Brand history.
Calling upon the adidas Micropacer, the adidas LA Trainer, and the adidas Torsion Conquest Super, Simons has juxtaposed each shoe’s stylings onto the Stan Smith via printing and 3-D modeling. Each of the three pairs comes “as is,” with details like cracked soles, stains, and exposed glue bringing elements into the past into the modern-day quite literally, while the white base of Simons’ tonal Stans provides some semblance of current style. Pushing towards the future by reimagining the past, Simons’ newest adidas creations may just be some of his most unusual yet — and they’ll release January 17th exclusively at Tom Greyhound in Paris before a full global release later in April. Get a look at all three re-worked shoes below, and stay tuned to our Sneaker Release Dates page for updates on the global drop as well.
Raf Simons x adidas Stan Smith “Tromp-l’oeil” Collection
Release Date: January 17, 2019 (Paris Fashion Week Exclusive)
Release Date: April 2019 (Worldwide Launch)