"Croc" adidas? Absurd — In a Good Way
adidas' Superstar sneaker is a classic. But in faux crocodile leather, the Superstar is weirdly fresh again, even if it is also a little ridiculous.
There's something about croc leather that just feels off. It conjures mental images of ugly Italian dress shoes from a long bygone generation. And the way that alligators and crocodiles are farmed for their skin — no, thanks.
But adidas' faux croc Superstar sneakers sidestep, at least partially, the most damning ethical concerns (no such thing as ethical consumption, right?) while indulging in the fun side of crocodile pattern.
It's almost knowingly tacky, a shoe so overtly indulgent that its croc-patterned upper comes back around to actually being kinda cool.
The ironic appeal carries over to a variety of animal prints that were once pure faux pas.
But thanks in part to gifted designers like Wales Bonner, who utilized abundant croc patterns in her most recent adidas collaboration, these kinds of relatively uncool accents have been redeemed.
In brown and black, adidas' faux croc Superstar has a bit of dress shoe vibes but, for $105 on adidas' website, it's not quite as imposing on the ol' wallet.
Similarly, it's got a friendly shape that offsets the oddity of the pattern in a pleasantly direct sort of way, balancing out the weirdness of croc with a classic sneaker silhouette.
