adidas Gazelle 'Bold Aqua'
Colorway: Bold Aqua/Off White/Cream White · Style code: GY7337 · Release date: February 6, 2023 · Price: $65 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: adidas Wmns Gazelle Bold 'Flash Aqua Lucid Pink' (ID7026)
Aqua on suede is harder than it looks. A blue-green this clear tends to read as synthetic on smooth materials, but suede diffuses it, and the result here is a colour with body rather than glare. Off White and Cream White handle the trim, which is a gentler choice than a stark white would have been and keeps the aqua as the only thing making a claim. The two neutrals differ just enough in warmth that the serrated three stripes and the heel tab separate from each other in daylight.
This pair shared a February 6, 2023 release date and a $100 price with the darker colourways in the same set, all built on the same cream-trimmed template with a different base colour. Aqua was the one that took the risk. Bright suede is also the least durable option in the family, since the dye photobleaches at the toe and along the top of the vamp, so a heavily worn pair ends up noticeably paler on its upper surfaces than in its creases.