Zozotown x adidas Campus 80s

  • MODEL: ADIDAS CAMPUS 80S
  • TYPE: BASKETBALL
  • DESIGNED BY: Zozotown
  • MADE IN: VIETNAM
  • MADE ON: 01/13
  • ART.NO: G97269
  • FACTORY: SHW 675001

If sneakers were animals, the majority of them would be house pets. Clean cut, groomed, and calm. Although there would be those occasional pairs which would stray from mainstream fashion into the chaotic jungle of undefinable sneakers. The pairs which are hard to describe because of their individuality and brow-raising features. You don’t know whether to applaud or run away from their untamed aesthetics so you just keep your distance to be safe. That is what I think of this collaboration as: a pair of sneakers which is vicious, untamed, and outright wild.

While some people do choose to stay away from sneakers like these because of their aggressive looks, I choose to get as close to them as I can, while hoping to get a leash on a pair for myself. It’s the aggressive look that attracts me to them. Not aggressive in the sense that it’s a “shoe for the bad boys” but in the sense that nothing else can be mistaken for them. It has it’s own unique identity which is only present because of the aggressive approach taken in the design process. Yes, there are plenty of snakeskin shoes out there. Once you’ve seen one, you’ve basically seem them all, right? Well I guess I could understand that. But how often do you see a pair of kicks that’s a cross between a snake, a polar bear, and a dark blue orangutan? That’s what I thought.

It’s this strange mix that draws me in, not only by the materials chosen, but also by the ways the materials are placed together. The general trend is that if the outer stripes are one color, then the medial stripes are that color too. And if the outer upper is one material, then the medial upper is that material too. If we continued to follow that pattern, we’d end up with two all-white left shoes. This pair of Campus 80s doesn’t do that. The outer stripes are layered with what is claimed to be white pony hair while the medial side holds a grey snakeskin. And the outer upper is the classic Campus 80s suede while the other side is coated in a thick, navy fur. It may seem unbalanced by itself but when you get both right next to each other, it turns into an intricate, well-balanced design scheme. I choose to applaud Zozotown for this feat.

Although Japanese retailer Zozotown has collaborated with many other big names like BAPE, Stüssy, and Neighborhood, they’ve never entered into adidas’ territory before. I see this aggressive creation as the start to a long and fruitful relationship with much more to come in the future. I can’t wait to see what wild creature this duo will create next.

written by Kyle Zemborain

photography by errol