Adidas’ New Natural-Leather Sneakers Will Age With Grace and Dignity

Coming to a nudist colony near you

September 1, 2017 9:00 am

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Instead of trying to best the stellar natural-leather sneakers that have become Hender Scheme’s calling card, Adidas decided the Japanese label to partner up on a capsule collection.

The resulting collaboration is a trifecta of Three Stripes standards — the Superstar, NMD and Micropacer — decked out with Hender Scheme’s name and signature naturally tanned leather uppers. The pastel-colored shoes will conform to their owner’s feet as they age, as well as develop a handsome, weather-worn patina.

Adidas Collab (5 images)

“On the Adidas side, we came together because of a desire to work in a more hands-on way, and embrace a real creator culture,” Adidas Originals design director Erman Aykurt told Highsnobiety. “Having a role model like [Hender Scheme founder] Ryo-san who works through the construction of a new silhouette like the NMD, gave us a lot of cues and insight on how a traditional craftsman would approach the construction of a shoe like that.”

That traditional craftsmanship doesn’t come cheap (the Superstar and Micropacer go for $900; the NMD $1,000), but that won’t stop the shoes from going fast when they drop September 2nd.

When and while you can, get ‘em here.

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