Your Adidas Gazelles make you ‘boring’ and basic, stylist says: Here’s what sneakers you need to wear instead
This sneaker is getting the boot.
Adidas Gazelles have become the world’s hottest trainer over the past year, sported by content creators, style writers and celebrities, such as Katie Holmes and Gigi Hadid.
But one stylist says that the beloved shoe has now become so ubiquitous — just look down at the feet of any Zoomer hanging out in downtown Manhattan — that it’s now become a totally basic fashion faux pas.
“I think they have been deemed uncool in some cases because we are seeing them worn by many women,” UK-based personal stylist Lisa Talbot told the Daily Mail.
“Where they were imaginative and inspiring, they’ve now almost become slightly boring.”
The allure of both the the Adidas Gazelles — and a similar style known as the Adidas Sambas — lies in their vast color palette.
Available in nearly every shade imaginable, the low-profile footwear elbowed its way to notoriety in a sea of chunky dad-type lace-ups, pushing out the humble white sneaker as the hottest “it” trend of the last two years.
“They have bought us away from the white trainer that has been around for a few years and they add a pop of color into outfits whilst keeping the comfort of a trainer,” Talbot explained.
At the time, The Guardian reports, there was a shift from a clunkier shoe to a sleeker look, fueled by the design to lose some bulk. Thus, the Gazelles, and, subsequently, Sambas, quickly prevailed as the fashion frontrunners.
But the $120 Gazelles, designed in 1966 for indoor sports, appear to be following in the footsteps of Stan Smiths or Nike’s Air Force 1s — “killed,” Talbot added, by their own popularity.
Earlier this year, The Guardian declared that Sambas were definitively done in the trend cycle.
According to Footwear News executive editor Katie Abel, “sneakers have mostly disappeared from the top runways, at least for the moment.”
“Customers are looking for versatility and shoes that will take them from day to night,” she added, noting a piqued interest in the recent collaboration between Nike and Bode that “has all the right ingredients to be one of the biggest shoes of the year.”
“It’s another example of these very, very thin sneakers,” Highsnobiety style editor Tom Barker told The Guardian of the Nike x Bode show, dubbed the rising “‘It’ trainer.”
“It’s Nike basically trying to keep up with that demand.”
But if you don’t want to snap up the new Nike collab sneakers, Talbot offered ways to style your Gazelles without having to toss them in the trash because they’re no longer en vogue.
“Styling them with modern items such as wide leg trousers, denim shorts, dresses and linen trousers will ensure the look is kept on trend,” she said.
As for other shoe options, ballet pumps, loafers or another variation of a “neutral or slim” trainer will keep your outfits on-trend without buying into the next trending — and ultimately fleeting — thing.
