adidas Gazelle

The Gazelle is undoubtedly one of adidas’ most storied and recognisable sneakers ever produced. Embodying an extensive history reaching back to the mid 60’s, it’s simplistic and unassuming aesthetic has made it the sneaker of choice of sneaker enthusiasts and average joe’s globally. With it’s design derived from a track shoe, adidas decided to test the shoe with the West German national football team and select international handball players with the goal for a more general athletic purpose shoe. The sneaker marked the beginning of a new era in sneaker design. With all previous models being built with leather, the Gazelle was the first Adidas shoe constructed from suede. Originally launching in two distinct colours with two different outsoles, the red utilised a transparent non-slip outsole, whilst the blue made use of a gum rubber with a wave pattern for durable outdoor wear. By the 1970’s the Gazelle was one of the most desired adidas models and was constantly being upgraded with new materials and design tweaks. This included the “Soft Protect” heel tab to enhance Achillies tendon protection, vinyl foot forming tongue and hexagonal shaped microcell sole design for maximised traction. Rolling into the 1980’s, the Gazelle remained in production, outlasting the average shelf life of an adidas shoe which at the time was benchmarked at four years. Riding the waves of Reggae, Hip-Hop, grunge and brit-pop over the years, the adidas Gazelle is a marvel of simplistic atypical adidas intuition which has evolved it into a truly timeless icon.