Pro riders Nora Vasconcellos and Maité Steenhoudt have been enlisted by adidas Skateboarding to rework the Gazelle ADV and Samba ADV respectively in their own collaborations. For Vasconcellos — who was adidas’ first female skateboarder — the collaboration follows on from her lavender-toned 3MC sneaker with an equally muted Gazelle ADV, while for Steenhoudt the Samba ADV marks her first collaboration with the Three Stripes.
Vasconcellos’ Gazelle ADV is served in a muted palette comprising white leather for the upper and nubuck suede for the t-toe and heel tab. An exposed foam padded tongue and “Soft Vision” (a.k.a. lavender) Three Stripes add a hint of contrast to the sneaker, as do the “Gilda” and “Nora” gold foil stamps on the sneaker’s respective left and right heels. Elsewhere, we see skateboarding-focused design elements such as a grippy rubber outsole that’s capped with a gum toe bumper, as well as original artwork by the pro rider on the heel and all over the insole.
In complete contrast, Steenhoudt presents a Samba ADV covered in hairy black suede. The pair is arguably more detailed throughout, with white suede detailing the Three Stripes and heel tab at the rear alongside hand-written Samba and Maité branding on the sidewalls. Smooth suede has been added to the t-toe and is lined with red suede, revealing a hint of what’s to come as these shoes were designed to be well-worn, making the toe tear away to show a new design underneath.
Rounding out Steenhoudt’s pair is its semi-translucent sole unit, a gold foil stamp on the tongue, and a full art-covered insole penned by the pro rider. Take a look at both Nora Vasconcellos and Maité Steenhoudt’s adidas Skateboarding collaborations above, and expect both pairs to drop on March 16. The Gazelle ADV will retail for $100 USD and can be purchased on adidas’ website, while the Samba ADV will also drop online for $85 USD.
In case you missed it, check out this week’s installment of Sole Mates. This time around, HYPEBEAST speaks with Alex Wolfe about his Birkenstock collaboration.