When a fashion giant meets a football giant and a sportswear giant, it gave birth to a very limited edition adidas Stan Smith x Paul Smith x Manchester United.
Launched as part of the Fall/Winter 2022 season, the collaboration paid homage to the long-standing partnership between Manchester United and British designer Paul Smith, who is the club’s official partner and dresses the team for match days.
This exclusive collaboration celebrated the great friendship between the club and Sir Paul Smith, but also the friendship between the latter and the Stan Smith shoe. While the two Smiths are unrelated, they bonded over their love of design. And, the British designer has never hidden his affection for this pair of sneakers since it is part of his personal wardrobe, and we remember that the first Paul Smith suit exhibited at the V&A Museum in London was associated with a pair of classic Stan Smith.
Crafted from premium white leather, the collaborative sneaker “maintains the integrity of the original tennis silhouette” – which was first launched in 1965 – “while adding Paul Smith’s signature witty twist.”
As such, there were line drawings of Stan Smith and Paul Smith on the right and left tongues, respectively, and their names on the uppers. Additionally, Manchester United’s Red Devil logo had been added to the heel-tab and the team’s red, white and gray palette was featured on the insole, underside of the tongue and on the aglets.
“My story with adidas is about collaboration, really,” said Stan Smith, the father of the iconic pair of sneakers. “We’ve collaborated with all sorts of different people, different organizations and different designers. It’s exciting for me to be involved with Paul. It’s a great honor.”
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Only 1,946 pairs are available worldwide, marking the year in which the two Smith were born. Each pair costs $134 USD and is for sale on the Paul Smith and Manchester United websites.