adidas’ Most Classic Sneaker Barely Survived Bootcamp
Normally, the adidas BW army sneaker looks crisp and precise, a reflection of its military origins.
Originally created as a durable indoor running shoe for the West German Army, the Bundeswehr, in the 1970s, adidas’ flat-soled leather sneaker has since been resurrected from the archive with a twist. The latest BW Army trades its polished finish for distressed leather details that lend it grit and lived-in character.
When it was first born as utilitarian military gear, the BW Army wasn’t intended to do the rounds in fashion.
That changed when Martin Margiela “borrowed” the design of German Army trainers for his Spring/Summer 1999 show, reintroducing it as an all-purpose shoe that eventually became today’s luxe Replica.
Margiela’s reinterpretation consecrated the adidas’ simple shoe as something surprisingly stylish, paving the way for the brand to reconsider its archival classic as something sleek enough for the modern life.
Lightweight and easy, the BW Army has always been a quiet alternative to excess, less obvious than adidas’ Samba and more accessible than the newly luxurified Margiela Replica.
Adidas’ latest edition of the BW Army, available October 1 for $150 on adidas’ website, leans into a deeper ash-brown palette, with distressed leather with a “worn-in” effect giving the sneaker an urban edge unmatched by other army trainers.
Bootcamp is over. The BW Army is ready for real life, even though it looks like it’s already lived one.
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