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Chain reaction on sneaker design
Look at that photo of the shackle sneaker. How long did it take you to figure out it wasn’t a good idea?
It apparently didn’t occur to Adidas until after the company started to take some heat over how the shoe conjured up images of slavery. Next thing you know, plans for the shoe were canceled and an apology issued.
Adidas said in a statement: “Since the shoe debuted on our Facebook page ahead of its market release in August, Adidas has received both favorable and critical feedback. We apologize if people are offended by the design, and we are withdrawing our plans to make them available in the marketplace.”
Offended by the design? Yeah, a little. Here’s some of what the Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote at the Huffington Post: “The attempt to commercialize and make popular more than 200 years of human degradation … is offensive, appalling and insensitive. Removing the chains from our ankles and placing them on our shoes is no progress. For Adidas to … allow such a degrading symbol of African-American history to pass through its corporate channels and move toward actual production and advertisement is insensitive and corporately irresponsible.”
In its statement, Adidas said the sneaker “is nothing more than the designer Jeremy Scott’s outrageous and unique take on fashion and has nothing to do with slavery.”
