The adidas Italia ’60 was built for athletes chasing medals. Sixty years later, it’s chasing clout in Milan, one ostrich-leather upper at a time.

First introduced in 1959 to outfit athletes for the 1960 Rome Olympics, the Italia was one of adidas’ earliest sneakers. Its low-profile silhouette helped shape icons like the Samba and the Gazelle.

The new version keeps that slim, retro profile fashion houses like Dries Van Noten and Miu Miu keep borrowing, but it’s built with the kind of Italian craftsmanship you’d expect from them.

Made in Italy, the new Italia ‘60 is dressed in brown ostrich-like Italian leather, which might be one of the most luxed-up uppers adidas has ever signed off on.

The sneaker feels like it retired from the track and settled in Milan, ready for impromptu style competitions.

And while a wave of flat-footed retros might suggest adidas is just reacting to the trend cycle, the Italia is the blueprint, a model that laid the groundwork for today's flat-footed sneakers.

All this German lost-in-Italy clout has inflated the price, with the sneaker set at $400 when it debuts on adidas’ site come September 9.

What makes it more interesting is that the Italia joins a string of adidas sneakers made in Italy at luxury price points, from luxurious Superstars to dress-shoe Gazelles. The German sportswear giant is starting to behave less like a sports brand and more like an Italian luxury house.

So maybe this is the point. The sneaker that once sprinted for Olympic medals is now proof that heritage runners aren’t just nostalgia pieces, they’ve become luxury artifacts.

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