Mark McNairy x adidas Rom “RoMcNasty”

• MODEL: ADIDAS ROM
• SERIES: ADIDAS CITY SERIES
• PACK: ADIDAS MCNASTY COLLECTION
• DESIGNED BY: Mark McNairy
• MADE IN: INDONESIA
• MADE ON: 11/12
• FACTORY: PCI 789002

It’s almost as if Mark McNairy grabbed the classic blue and gold Milano colorway and slung it onto the body of an adidas Rom, slapped on a some suede, and injected the sole with style.

I’ll admit it for McNairy myself: this was a daring move. Sure, it’s no Jeremy Scott-type antics (and thank the trainer gods he’s not been allowed near the City Series silhouettes, at least not yet) but still, I believe I wouldn’t be alone to exclaim that it’s a particularly tricky move to make adjustments to adidas classics such as those trainers released as a part of the infamous City Series. Especially if it’s one of the oldest, well-known, and sought-after pairs from the three stripes archive: the adidas Rom, newly branded – hilariously – as the ‘RoMcNasty’ (gosh, I can’t tell what’s a worse feat, writing or reading that model name).

Now I could certainly be wrong but I’ve not personally laid eyes on a pair of adidas Rom in this particular colorway before, however in writing up another City Series shoe recently I did discover that the hues in this placement supposedly belonged to the OG Milano. I wonder if this is coincidence or rather that McNairy knows the games of which he plays. I think taking one colorway from a City Series shoe and bashing it onto another could be both loved and hated by the purists out there, depending on how strict your ‘worship’ is. And for those that can’t tell the difference, not only are the Rom and Milano’s sole units unique to each other (with the Milano’s looking more like that of an adidas Vienna), but the Milano’s toe box is void of the T-bar seen on the Rom (and many other City Series silhouettes for that matter), and the tongue on the Rom is shorter too.

Regardless of outcome relevant to the context of the past, the final shoe is definitely sweet. A quality suede upper, some solid bling for you flashy types in the gold pop against the luxury blue, and the killer dual-density midsole heel counter adhered to the highly-respected and beloved, so-called ‘melongit’ out sole. I’d be very curious which connoisseurs are bashing these and why.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol