Brand: Paul Smith x Manchester United x adidas
Model: Stan Smith
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $150
Buy: adidas UK’s website and Manchester United’s website
Editor’s Notes: What do you get when you cross two Smiths and a Man United? An adidas Stan Smith collaboration with Paul Smith and Manchester United.
Paul Smith and Manchester United’s adidas collab looks like an average white Stan Smith sneaker from afar. However, whimsical yet subtle details reveal this isn’t just a regular Stan Smith drop.
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On one shoe, a portrait of the British designer Paul Smith replaces the photo of tennis star Stan Smith, whom the classic adidas model is named after. At the same time, “Paul Smith” assumes the Stan Smith logo’s usual spot on the perforate upper.
While the other shoe preserves the traditional Stan Smith features, both receive the same Manchester United treatment.
Man United’s striped motif — not to be confused with Smith’s famed “Artist Stripe” — takes over the insole and lace aglet of the Stan Smith sneakers, boasting the football club’s signatures hues of grey, white, and red. Rounding off the Man United touches, the team’s Red Devil and crest emblems is stamped elsewhere on the shoe.
Though this particular collab is a first for the three-way partnership, adidas, Paul Smith, and Man United aren’t entirely strangers to each other.
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British brand Paul Smith and the world’s favorite football team Man United have been attached at the hip since 2008 when they inked their partnership deal.
The fashion label even outfits and tailors the team’s looks during game days. So, yeah, Paul Smith and Man United go way back.
adidas and Manchester United are also quite close, as the German sportswear company sponsors the team and has been supplying its jersey kits since the 2015/2016 season.
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As for the two Smiths (the shoe and Paul, that is), well, they have never formally met for a deal like this. But, it probably feels familiar, especially for Paul Smith, a longtime stan of the iconic adidas sneaker model.
While the trainer poses as a regular in the designer’s rotation, Smith also featured the adidas shoe in one of his museum exhibitions in the past, further reiterating that he is indeed part of the Stan Smith hive.
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Even more interesting, both Smiths (the breathing Stan and Paul) share the same birth year, 1946, which also marks the number of pairs dropping for this Paul Smith x Manchester United x adidas Stan Smith collab.
With everything aligning perfectly, Paul Smith and adidas‘ Stan Smith are officially acquainted with help from Manchester United. With this clean yet playful spin on the historic adidas silhouette, it’s safe to say Smith has another gem for the vault.
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