Stockholm & Charlotte – January 2017 The second installment of the 2017 Sneaker Exchange is a transcontinental collaboration between two major Consortium partners. 

Sweden’s Sneakersnstuff began life in Stockholm and has gradually opened stores across northern Europe. Similarly, Social Status started with a single store in North Carolina before expanding around the eastern United States. 

Initially intended as performance footwear for athletes, sneakers have grown in cultural significance; becoming style and design icons and transcend their purpose. Conversation developed between the two retailers on how classic sporting equipment can become iconographic. How it can, over time, gradually be elevated and reimagined, get remade in expensive materials, in silver or gold, and encrusted with jewels or diamonds.

That opulence serves as the inspiration behind the colorways here. The result is athletic footwear reimagined in monochrome luxury. The UltraBOOST is the first to get the makeover. adidas’ marquee runner-turned-casualwear sensation is executed in breathable grey/white melange Primeknit upper with leather overlays. It features a taped toe-tip and – as the luxurious highlight – a soft matte suede cage. Sneakersnstuff and Social Status apply the same BOOST™ and Primeknit attributes to the Superstar, giving the old-school basketball silhouette advantages of today’s technology. The result is a lighter, more flexible take on a late sixties hardwood classic.

GLOBAL RELEASE:  February 18th 2017