Adidas has sparked outrage and been accused of ‘promoting slavery’ by creating a new pair of trainers which have bright orange ‘shackles’ that fit around the wearer’s ankles. The clothing giant is under fire for its August scheduled release of the JS Roundhouse Mids, which many have compared to the devices worn by black slaves in 19th Century America. The seemingly innocent promotional material, uploaded to Facebook earlier this month, asks: ‘Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles?’
This story is so “out there,” so thoroughly and stunningly implausible that I find myself unable to process the epic, world-class stupidity and insensitivity evinced by Adidas. I have to think that some marketing genius at Adidas North American HQ (right here in Portland) is polishing up his resume after being force-marched off the campus in shame. Then again, it’s far more likely that Adidas will plead innocence until the laughter drowns them out and forces them to issue a mea culpa.
When I first came across this story, I figure that there was NO WAY that Adidas would be stupid and insensitive enough to actually launch a product like this.
Man, I can be SO naive sometimes….
I understand and appreciate art and design that pushes the edge of the envelope. Good art and great design SHOULD create a conversation. That said, even the barest modicum of common sense, due diligence, and a knowledge of American history might have saved Adidas a fair bit of embarrassment. Surely Jeremy Scott, the artistic genius who designed the shoe, wasn’t working in a vacuum…or did more than a few folks at Adidas just not do their homework?
Uh…does Adidas corporate policy forbid employees from using Google?
The internet responded in immediate uproar, accusing the sneakers of riffing on the shackles used on African American slaves (which seems overly specific, since they also look like the shackles seen in depictions of Native American slaves, Shanghaied sailors, and pretty much every other kind of slave or prisoner ever, from the Renaissance, to the Spanish Inquisition, to Game of Thrones). Adidas responded, saying, “Jeremy Scott is renowned as a designer whose style is quirky and lighthearted and his previous shoe designs for Adidas Originals have, for example, included panda heads and Mickey Mouse. Any suggestion that this is linked to slavery is untruthful.”
This being da Interwebs that we’re talking about, judgment was fast and furious. The general consensus seems to be- fairly or unfairly- that the JS Roundhouse Mids were a BIG swing and a miss. For one the, they’re basketball shoes…and basketball is huge in the African-American community. Put shackles on them…and, well, you can see where this would be heading, right?
Predictably and inevitably, Adidas backed down and pulled the plug on the JS Roundhouse Mids. When seemingly every prominent African-American from rappers to college professors to ministers were chiming in en masse against the implied message behind the shoe, it didn’t take a Ph.D. to understand what the denouement was bound to be.
Adidas, of course, is claiming that Jeremy Scott’s artistic vision is simply being misinterpreted and has NOTHING to do with slavery. Perhaps. But whatever Scott’s vision may have been, both he and Adidas dropped the ball on this one. This is what happens when you become so wrapped up in your own self-preceived brilliance that you forget to do your homework and/or exercise some basic common sense.
Nice work, y’all….
