Wales Bonner's Wonderful New adidas Sneakers Are Sambas But Not
Wales Bonner and adidas Samba sneaker collabs make for some of the year's biggest drops and the Wales Bonner x adidas collection releasing for Spring/Summer 2024 is poised to keep the momentum going.
Revealed in semi-reliable leaked imagery, Wales Bonner's new adidas collection is rich with Samba and SL72 sneakers, tracksuits and summery tops, has all of the hallmarks of the Wales Bonner adidas partnership: retro-chic design language informing a collection as cohesive as it is challenging.
But the highlight, as always, is the footwear.
Though Wales Bonner again takes on adidas' Samba and SL72 shoes, realizing three wild colorways equally wearable and weird, there's a major difference here.
This time, Wales Bonner's tackling adidas' Samba MN, a shoe that's a tad chunkier than the conventional Samba and, in Bonner's hands, far stranger.
To start, the Wales Bonner Samba MN is realized in terrifically odd bi-color tonal colorways that juxtapose single-hued heels against texturally-stitched uppers.
You've got your choice of beige or green shoes that clash against their heels and, in the case of the latter option, the materials: it's grain leather vs. hairy fur!
Crazy stuff to be sure, especially for people used to the more understated Wales Bonner adidas sneakers, but are they really that much more out-there than the leopard or metallic silver shoes from last year?
Oh, don't worry. There will also be some normal Wales Bonner Sambas dropping, too.
Wales Bonner's new adidas SL72, meanwhile, is comparably normal in in either baby blue or limey yellow suede and mesh uppers accented with black leather stripes.
Simple, easy, and as classic as adidas' other throwback low-profile masterpiece.
No Superstar collab yet, though: that's for Fall/Winter 2024, presumably.
And, anyways, there's still the Wales Bonner adidas clothes.
An all-black windbreaker with reflective touches and an A-line beige trench are the standout layering pieces, to be worn atop plaid running shorts, ample tracksuits.
Accessorize with a bucket hat or leather Wales Bonner adidas handbag (!) to taste.
The color palette includes beige plaid, bright blue and orange, and green and yellow combos, all contributing to a very '70s Euro sportswear vibe.
Aside from the shorts and oversized white t-shirts, the collection doesn’t feel very summery. The leather, pony hair, and colors all feel like a brisk September day more than a sultry July one, but this is Wales Bonner x adidas, we’re talking about it.
Does it matter when you wear it? Of course not.
And come May 20, when the collection launches on adidas' website — at an estimated $170 for the shoes — who cares? It'll all be sold-out in no time.
