adidas' Spezial Loafer Is What Happens When You Grow Up (Sort Of)
At some point along the way, standardized sneakers became insufficient. Things got repetitive, and so the sneaker loafer revolution arrived to shake things up.
adidas’ Spezial Loafer is, thankfully, not a mesh dad shoe in disguise. In fact, it’s actually a pretty nice-looking loafer.
If it didn’t have those signature three stripes on the side, you might not even clock it as adidas. But where’s the fun in that? adidas have played with loafers before, but not in such an obvious way.
The whole point of this shoe is the surprise factor. If you’d told us a decade ago that the German sportswear brand would be making sophisticated loafers, we would’ve laughed. Yet, here we are.
The soft, supple black leather brings the elegance. The gum sole and trefoil charm bring the edge. It captures everything that made the Spezial great: subtle, wearable, just a bit cheeky. Considering the classic Spezial silhouette is winding down (after a solid five-year run, no less), the Spezial Loafer is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
Not its first transformation, either, remember that boat shoe? Or the Wallabee-style Spezial? Turns out, this icon still has some cards to play.
The Spezial Loafer is set to drop on adidas' website April 29.
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