Itโs never an easy thing for a brand to reimagine an iconic design โ a truth that must feel doubly obvious when youโre talking about footwear silhouettes people know and wear religiously (think your Air Jordan 4s and NB550s, to name but a few).
Still, that hasnโt stopped skunkworks-type outfits like Sense of Symmetry from trying, with the Italian footwear studio focusing its efforts this time around on a design that is part court-shoe; part galosh; and all kinds of divisive.
Conceived, in the studioโs own words, as a โ[silhouette] for those who are ready to move into a new era of style without letting go of their past entirelyโ the โStan Tipโ โ as no one is sure to call it โ fuses the construction and basic support systems of a brogue with the characteristically clean uppers of Adidasโ best-selling tennis shoe โ a staple on courts, city streets and runways for more than four decades.
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Variously described by Sense of Symmetryโs designers as โan oxymoronโ and โlink between past and futureโ, itโs not a design that everybody will readily be inclined to embrace โ but does raise interesting questions about whether the next wave in sneakerdom might involve some kind of compromise between Tom Sachsโs โGeneral Purpose Shoeโ and the $600 loafer.
Despite being definitionally of niche appeal, the Sense of Symmetry guys have done a good job incorporating the Stan Smithโs more recognisable details into what otherwise looks (and probably wears) like a straight-down-the-middle chunky dress shoe.
The perforated uppers blend into those decorative elements that wearers will see all over the โwingโ of each shoe and in certain of the colourways โ namely โOffwhite Blackโ and โBlack Blueโ โ thereโs even a good bet that you could wear these, complete with braces and dinner jacket, should you feel obliged.
The catch? Only 10 pairs in each style will be made, with delivery requiring five weeks of lead time thanks to the bona fide brogue-style channelled stitching and chunky, Vibram-esque rubber sole.
