Since 2020, Grace Wales Bonner, the rising queen of British menswear, and Adidas, the stalwart king of German sportswear, have worked on an impressive 25 sneakers together. They’ve been hype-y. They’ve sold out. And they’ve served as an accessible foothold into the world of Wales Bonner, a label that brings an “Afro-Atlantic perspective to European luxury,” as she told GQ in an interview last June.
But just when you thought you had seen everything, the Wales Bonner x Adidas Samba ‘Studded Pack’ comes along. It’s the British fashion designer’s most rebellious sneakers collection to date—and the rarest one, too. So if you thought copping these shoes was tough before, it’s about to get a whole lot harder.
Revealed in two monochromatic colorways—a creamy white and rich black—Bonner’s latest Samba is made from leather that’s meant to look and feel more high-end than ever before. Her signature contrast stitching wraps around around the heel badge and tongue, which can be worn up or folded down, overlapping the lacing system. A serrated version of the Three Stripes emblem features across the lateral and medial sidewalls, and as the pack’s name already suggests, these are decorated with a series of shiny metallic gold studs throughout.
