Gigi Hadid's Quietly Cool Adidas x Wales Bonner Sneakers Are Why This Outfit Works

At Harper’s Bazaar, we’re constantly asking: What exactly makes a good outfit a good outfit? In our column Why This Outfit Works, an editor dissects the anatomy of a look, zeroing in on the one specific piece (or pieces) that pull the entire ensemble together.

These days, you really can’t walk five blocks in New York City without spotting some girl—probably clad in bow-tied pigtails or baggy barrel jeans—wearing a pair of Adidas Sambas. The famed soccer sneaker, originally introduced in black and white, now comes in a variety of delicious color couplings like taupe and jade and indigo and ocean blue. Sambas also happen to be one of the easiest ways to put a stylish, no-fuss finish on the eclectic ensembles typically seen on Dimes Square denizens. So it’s no wonder Gigi Hadid would put her own fresh spin on the fad.

Adidas x Wales Bonner Suede Sneakers

Adidas x Wales Bonner Suede Sneakers

On Monday, the supermodel—never one to shy away from fun colors and textures—traversed New York’s cobblestone streets with boyfriend Bradley Cooper in a quirked-up outfit that screamed spring. Among her look’s louder garments were a maroon-brown leather jacket from Holzweiler, a creamy cropped cable knit sweater/T-shirt, and fringe-lined Nigel Xavier tapestry pants featuring cursive white script embroidered on a whirlpool of shades of blue. She piled on a few quieter pieces, too, like her favorite Miu Miu Arcadie bag and a sensible pair of rectangular tortoiseshell sunglasses.

With so much going on, Hadid grounded her look with a rusty red iteration of the iconic urban footwear—specifically, a pair of Sambas from Adidas’s celebrated collaboration with Wales Bonner. British designer Grace Wales Bonner updated the signature Samba silhouette with panels of soft suede, stark contrast stitching, and the reintroduction of the retro fold-over tongue.

MEGA//Getty Images

Gotham//Getty Images

The Adidas x Wales Bonner partnership has spawned a wave of new Samba iterations. Besides Hadid’s quietly cool crimson style, there are versions that come lined in gold studs or covered in cheetah print.

Bazaar culture editor Bianca Betancourt previously raved over her own metallic silver pair last summer, praising the shoe’s ability to promote sartorial creativity: “I quickly realized the Wales Bonner Sambas aren’t meant to be paired with the ‘perfect’ outfit as much as they are meant to be an extension of the wearer. … If anything, pairing my Sambas with whatever I feel like and wearing them out in the world is a statement on its own. They encourage me to embrace imperfection when it comes to getting dressed every day.”

As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset. 

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