Andrew Rizzo In 1972, American tennis star Stan Smith won the Wimbledon Gentlemen Singles Championship in white adidas tennis shoes, a model that would be re-branded with his signature later that decade. Now over fifty years later, the adidas Stan Smith remains an integral symbol of footwear history, aging like a fine wine throughout countless eras of coming and going fashion trends.
With this year’s Wimbledon Championship tourney in full swing, Brain Dead and adidas have reconvened on a collaborative Stan Smith in honor of the athlete’s greatest achievement. The shoes have been “unstructured” so as to evoke typical 1970s footwear, as brown, supple cow leather replaces the typical mesh padding we see today. The sidewalls and base conform to Wimbledon’s strict dress code in white, made unique by a perforated Brain Dead logo at the quarter in lieu of traditional stripes. Completing the design, a grass-inspired fabric heel is matched by co-branded green and white laces, evoking a timeless Stan Smith colorway and Wimbledon’s rare grass courts in one stroke.
According to Brain Dead, the shoes are “very limited” and will release exclusively in-person on July 6th at Dover Street Market London and the brand’s tennis event at Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club on July 7th.
