Wales Bonner is so well-known for her collaborative adidas Samba sneakers that, on any given day, two-thirds of the predictive results that pop up after typing her name into a Google search bar are adidas or Samba-related. Such is the power of an excellent shoe.
But with great shoes come great responsibility and you can imagine that any creative-minded type would want to move beyond iterating the same sneaker model if only because it'd eventually become too much of a tall order to stack up against yourself.
And such, Wales Bonner is at least partially stepping back from the Samba for Fall/Winter 2024, though she's still pedestaling the Three Stripes by way of nifty accessories like branded shoulder bags, all presumably launching as part of her usual seasonal adidas Originals capsule.
Most importantly for the sneaker-buying public, Wales Bonner is also still making collaborative adidas sneakers. They just ain't Sambas is all.
First seen during her Paris Fashion Week menswear runway shoe on January 17, Wales Bonner's FW24 adidas sneaker collab is a new iteration of the Superstar that wears either plain white leather or an exotic crocodile-embossed pattern. Makes sense, given the collection's OG hip-hop inspirations, tracing influence from MCs and producers like Rashad "Ringo" Smith and yasiin bey, who each contributed to the show's soundtrack.
In videos and photos of the runway, you can see Wales Bonner's white adidas Superstar sneaker poking out from the bottom of voluminous trousers, just barely visible. There are also some interesting adidas sneakers (non-Superstars, non-Sambas) with that aforementioned croc pattern.
Wales Bonner also collaborated on some accessorized Timberland shoes for FW24, demonstrative of the designer's far-reaching footwear aspirations — first adidas sneakers, then UGG slippers, now Timberland boots. The handmade Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses were a bonus.
But the adidas collaborations are the reason for the season, the factor that's brought Wales Bonner much crossover success.
I mean, she arguably deserves it even more for her excellent clothing, always toeing the line between adventurous and approachable, but she knows her way around shoes, too.
Makes you wonder how much work Wales Bonner's collaborations have done for adidas' sneaker portfolio as a whole: surely Wales Bonner's collaborative Samba sneakers aren't the sole reason for the hype driving demand for adidas' low-top shoes as a whole but you can definitely see some likely crossover between Wales Bonner's collaborative output and adidas' in-line designs.
Either way, you can feel Wales Bonner's Samba sensitivity. The designer's recent Sambas have felt like a push of the envelope, what with all the hair and patterns.
Bonner clearly desires to continue breaking the mold and perhaps that's why she's stepped to the Superstar instead.
To be clear, there may yet be more Wales Bonner Sambas come FW24 but it feels like Bonner is moving on from her signature silhouette. Will fans follow?
