Adidas adiFOM Gazelle 360 I 'Lucid Pink Blue'
Colorway: Lucid Pink/Lucid Blue/Gum · Style code: JH5212 · Release date: November 24, 2024 · Price: $2482 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Toy Story x adidas adiFOM Gazelle 360 I 'Rex' (JI3095) · Toy Story x adidas adiFOM Gazelle 360 C 'Rex' (JI3094)
Nothing about this one is suede. The adiFOM 360 takes the outline of the Gazelle, the low profile, the three stripes, the gently pointed toe, and renders it as moulded foam, so the shape survives while the materials do not. Lucid Pink covers the shell, Lucid Blue picks out the contrast, and a gum tone finishes the base, giving a three-colour scheme that is much brighter than anything the suede versions run. The upper itself is elastane, a stretch textile that lets the foot in without laces doing much work, which is the practical argument for the whole construction.
At $45 on November 24, 2024, it was the least expensive Gazelle adidas listed that season by a wide margin. Foam also changes how the shoe behaves: it is lighter than leather or suede, it wipes clean, and it does not crease, which matters far more on a shoe that gets treated roughly than on a trainer bought for its nap. Whether the result still counts as a Gazelle is a fair question. As an exercise in translating a sixty-year-old pattern into a single moulded piece, it is unusually literal.