The Paul Smith x Stan Smith trainer.

adidas, United and Paul Smith launch limited edition trainers

Friday 30 September 2022 09:00

Manchester United have teamed up with our proud sponsors adidas and Paul Smith to reimagine one of the most iconic footwear silhouettes ever: the Stan Smith.

The Stan Smith is one of the sneaker world's most iconic and consistent models.

The silhouette first came to be back in 1965 and was originally named for the French tennis player, Robert Haillet. In 1978 it was renamed to the Stan Smith, as a nod to the American tennis legend. In the 1980s, the trademark portrait of Stan Smith and his signature was incorporated into the design of the tongue of the shoe, alongside adidas’s trefoil logo on the heel. 

Its simplicity is what makes it such an iconic silhouette. Clean all-white leather uppers, minimal branding and three perforated panels combine to create three stripes, and the grassy-green heel tabs all make the Stan Smith the classic that it truly is. You can get a pair here.

The Paul Smith x Stan Smith Trainer.

Paul Smith is the proud tailoring partner of Manchester United, and so fits the team for match days and other various outings, but it’s not just the club and Paul Smith that share a close relationship: Paul has been a fan of the Stan Smith silhouette for many years. In fact, it’s part of his daily rotation.

And when the first Paul Smith suit went on display at the V&A museum, which is the world's leading museum in art and design, it was accompanied by a pair of Stan Smiths. 

So the opportunity to collaborate not only with adidas, but with Paul Smith, was always going to be exciting. This reimagined silhouette largely stays true to its original design, but there are a few United and Paul Smith twists.

Incorporating United’s colours, red, black and white features on the inner lining, the underside of the tongue and on the lace tips, while both Paul and Stan’s portraits feature on the left and right tongues. The finishing touch is the iconic red devil of Manchester United, which sits on the heel tabs. 

This pair is limited to 1,946 pairs worldwide, which commemorates the year both Paul and Stan Smith were born. 

Paul and Stan Smith.

To celebrate the creation of the Smith x Smith, Stan visited Paul Smith HQ in London.

“It was such an honour to put our own spin on such an iconic shoe in collaboration with our longstanding tailoring partner Manchester United. It’s a trainer that I wear myself and has truly stood the test of time, earning itself a place in the history books,” he explained.

“Spending time with the man himself and working closely with the adidas team, our shared passion for the design became clear and I’m confident we have created something that serves as a fitting tribute to the unmistakable classic.”

Not only did Stan take a visit to the Paul Smith HQ, he was also accompanied by club legends Andy Cole and Bryan Robson too.

The adidas & Manchester United Smith x Smith is limited to just 1,946 pairs and is available to purchase at United Direct here. 

If you manage to grab a pair, be sure to show us your style by tagging us over on @weareunited with the tag #unitedstyle and #adidas, so that we can share our favourites.

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