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Every Step is Culture: Grace Wales Bonner’s Design Conversation with Adidas

Grace Wales Bonner, a visionary British designer redefining the intersection of culture and style, has once again captivated the fashion world with her boundary-pushing approach to footwear. Her most recent collaboration with Adidas Originals, unveiled in October 2024, breathes new life into iconic silhouettes like the Samba and Superstar. Crafted with luxurious materials and finished with artful precision, these shoes are more than fashion. They are cultural artifacts reimagined for the modern era.


The Making of a Designer


Born in South East London in 1990 to a Jamaican father and an English mother, Wales Bonner’s rich dual heritage fuels her distinctive creative lens. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in 2014, she quickly made waves with her debut collection “Afrique,” which earned the L’Oréal Professionnel Talent Award and marked the beginning of her fashion journey.




Launching Wales Bonner


Soon after graduating, Wales Bonner launched her namesake label, introducing a fresh, intellectual voice in menswear. Her work, anchored in impeccable tailoring and explorations of Black identity and spirituality, garnered immediate critical acclaim. She was named Emerging Menswear Designer at the 2015 British Fashion Awards and received the prestigious LVMH Young Designer Prize in 2016.


Wales Bonner x Adidas


Wales Bonner’s entry into footwear was a natural extension of her narrative-driven fashion. Since 2020, her collaboration with Adidas Originals has resulted in coveted collections that merge sportswear with soulful sophistication. She reimagines classic models like the Samba and Superstar through a lens of cultural history, craftsmanship, and modern artistry.


The Autumn/Winter 2024 collection stands out. It includes Sambas wrapped in croc-embossed leather and Superstars rendered in soft cream tones with crocodile textures. Past collections featured reflective silver patent leather, mock croc, and handwoven tongues, each detail contributing layers of meaning. 




Crafting Culture Into Every Step


Material selection in her designs goes beyond aesthetics. It tells a story:

• Elevated Aesthetic: Luxurious finishes transform utilitarian sneakers into refined, statement pieces

• Cultural Resonance: Textures and hand-finished elements echo diasporic craftsmanship and heritage.

• Exclusivity and Intention: Limited releases using premium materials make each design collectible and deeply personal.


Fashion as Dialogue


At the heart of her footwear designs is a larger mission: to explore identity, history, and belonging. Through her Adidas collaborations, she creates wearable narratives that spark cultural conversation. Her approach redefines not only how we wear fashion but how we understand its deeper purpose.


In a fast-paced, trend-driven industry, Grace Wales Bonner offers a vision rooted in depth, artistry, and cultural meaning. She is shaping the future of fashion one thoughtful step at a time.



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