adidas Superstar 2 City “Paris”
- MODEL: ADIDAS SUPERSTAR
- SERIES: ADIDAS SUPERSTAR 35TH ANNIVERSARY
- MADE IN: INDONESIA
- MADE ON: --/05
- ART.NO: 132318
This pair of kicks is one representing the city of love, the city of lights, la ville du fromage. Paris has been around for over two thousand years and has become a multicultural hub and destination for travel. The town is also considered worldwide as a big player in the fashion business and is one of the towns that rose the Superstar into glory.
Released in 2005 when adidas celebrated the Superstar’s 35th year of going strong by creating the commemorative 35th Anniversary Collection, including five series of seven pairs. That’s thirty-five pairs in total; one for each year of excellence. The first, and most rare, of these series was the birth of adidas’ Consortium line, still going today, which mostly features collaborations with other brands (such as D-MOP, Foot Patrol, or UNDFTD), allowed to go crazy with adidas models to show off their distinct styles. The second group was the Expression Series, covered with influential art that had flourished during the time of the Superstar’s life (like Bay Area designer crew Upper Playground). Third was the Music Series, promoting and paying homage to big names of the music business, such as Bad Boy and Roc-A-Fella records. Next was the City series, which this shoe was part of, that consisted of seven of the biggest and most internationally known asphalt jungles including Berlin, London, Paris, New York, Boston, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires. Lastly was the Anniversary Series, showing the appreciation for the change in apparel the Superstar has gone through over the years.
The upper of the Superstar 2′s is a dark blue tumbled leather, which has a subtle luster and is soft to the touch. This is combined with a red midsole and side stripes to showcase a colorway synonymous with the French flag. On the upper is a gold fleur-de-lis pattern, which although never officially adopted by the French, has been used widely throughout the country and has been seen in art from some of the earliest civilizations. It’s a symbol that is thought to represent life, light, and perfection, and was traditionally a sign of royalty, which the Superstar is no doubt among basketball shoes. Final touches include the blue metal eyelets embossed with the words “adidas Superstar”, strung up with fat, red laces, in line with a style that has been a street trend among Superstars for decades. Like the rest of the 35th Anniversary City Series, the outer heel of the shoe identifies the city with an “I [trefoil] Paris” as a play on the classic “I [heart] NY” campaign logo designed by Milton Glaser.
Although part of the 35th Anniversary City Series, don’t get these guys mixed up with the terrace classic European City Series Paris model. Stuck to a non-gum outsole the differences are vast, ranging from the entire silhouette structure on down to the littlest of detailing, including the featured vintage trefoil instead of the modern version shown on these Supes. Although they-re both dedicated to the same city, they have no relation besides being birthed by the three stripes.
Unlike the 35th Anniversary Consortium Series Supes (dropped in batches between three and seven hundred pairs worldwide) or the Expression and Music series (produced in groups of four or five thousand pairs respectively) both the City and Anniversary Series Supes were left to open allocation, making them the least rare of the entire range. Even with that said, these Frenchies mark a classic moment in adidas history and thereby are keepers for sure.
written by Kyle Zemborain
photography by errol
