Stella McCartney has certainly made a name for herself in fashion; from clothing to perfume, Stella is a name well-known in the business and now, she is making her mark on a well-known sneaker.
Stan Smiths have proven to be the sneaker that everybody wants. They’re simple and go with everything, but more often than not, they’re leather. While this may or may not be a problem depending on who you ask, as a lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney wasn’t a fan.
Having designed her fair share of faux leather for her Adidas x Stella McCartney line, it was when she received her custom pair of Stan Smiths that the designer had an idea for her latest sneaker design.
“Many years ago, I was given a special pair of vegetarian leather Stan Smiths by my husband and Adidas,” she tells Vogue. “It occurred to me that you really couldn’t tell the difference between the real leather and the faux leather pair. I could not help but think [of] how many animals’ lives could be saved if Stan Smith and Adidas would change from real leather to vegetarian leather, and use non-animal-based glues.”
It was from this moment that she thought of the Stella McCartney x Sam Smith collaboration and suggested it to Adidas.
The result? The shoes are landing in stores on September 10. “We’ve been collaborating with Adidas for many years, [so] I thought this would be a great way to reach a really wide audience and enable them to understand that you don’t have to have leather shoes or animal-based glues in order to have an incredible, iconic product,” explained McCartney.
The sneaker, which will be named the “Stella Stan Smith” is almost identical to the classic pair. However, there are a few minor differences.
The Kelly-green hill will be burgundy and navy and stamped with McCartney’s logo; rather than Adidas striped down the side, they will be replaced with tiny punched-out stars, and the designer’s portrait will feature on the left tongue. Moreover, each pair will retail at $325 and will be available for pre-order before hitting the shelves, just in time for the Spring 2019 show season.