There’s no question about it: Raf Simons is a visionary. Not only has he transformed the landscape of American fashion since taking up the chief creative officer role at Calvin Klein, but he launched dad sneakers before they hit mainstream fashion and officially became a thing.
His first major contribution to the ugly shoe movement was when he saw the genius in Adidas‘ Ozweego sneakers, the chunky normcore-esque style that every kid wore in the late ’90s and early aughts. Simons performed his sartorial magic, saturating them in sleek inky shades, embedding jewel-shaped gel pods throughout and slashing them with a bolt of color. And thus, the Raf Simons x Adidas Ozweego Is were born. They were a part of Simons’ fall ’13 collection and immediately found success — so much so that it led to a second.
The Adidas Ozweego IIs featured monochrome colors in trendy hues (think: mustard yellow and emerald green) and colorblock styles (cobalt with pops of peach) with luxe details (plush leather accents and mesh inserts). That ultimately ushered in the now-sold-out Adidas Ozweego IIIs that launched early last year with all-black, white/khaki/black and all-white colorways.
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And now, Raf Simons’ Adidas Ozweego IIIs have returned in three brand new colorways, available starting tomorrow in men’s and women’s sizes for $390 at Stylebop.com. There’s a bold cherry red-burgundy one, an ultraviolet version (Pantone’s Color of the Year once again comes into play here) and a beige-black style. Considering the immense popularity of similar over-the-top chunky shoes, like Balenciaga’s Triple S sneakers, Adidas’ Yeezy runners and styles from pretty much every major brand out there, we suspect that these are going to sell out fast. Simons is the godfather of dad shoes, after all.
