The adidas BW Army Shoe is a no-thrills, straightforward sneaker. A brilliantly plain, ordinary shoe from which many luxury creations have been born. 

White leather, suede overlays, flat gum sole. That’s been the recipe ever since adidas first made the sneaker for the German army in 1970s. However, the sportswear giant has been toying with that time-honored combination of late. 

First, adidas dropped the gum sole. Now, it’s ditching the leather. 

The BW Army shoe (or GAT, as it's affectionately been nicknamed) is now available in a waxed canvas upper. 

Available in two light-washed colorways, brown or green, the fabric looks like it could’ve been ripped from a military satchel. And the raw-edge finish only adds to this archival military feel.

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Both renditions come complete with tonal sole units, making for a minimal single-colored final look. The only really notable features are loose threads at the end of the raw-edged paneling and contrasting suede overlays. 

The BW Army Shoe is arguably the cleanest shoe in the brand’s wheelhouse, so stripped back that it doesn’t even feature adidas' famous three stripes. Now, the shoe has gotten, well, cleaner. 

For a long time, the adidas German army trainer was being recreated in these types of creative fabric executions by other brands. Most famous of the lot is Maison Margiela with its aptly-named Replica Sneaker. 

But recently, adidas has been taking a leaf out of the book of Margiela, dropping BW Army Shoes in elevated fabric executions reminiscent of the luxury brand’s Replica sneaker. 

This canvas pair, available now from adidas website in Europe (but yet to have made its way stateside), is the latest in a string of examples where adidas has given its signature historic sneaker a stylish makeover.  

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