adidas Gazelle 'Carbon'
Colorway: Carbon/Off White/Cream White · Style code: GY7340 · Release date: February 6, 2023 · Price: $124 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Adidas Gazelle 'Grey Carbon Gum' (GY7371) · Adidas Y3 Gazelle Sneakers (IG0804) · adidas Wmns Gazelle Indoor 'Black Carbon Velvet' (JI2712) · adidas Gazelle Bold J 'Aurora Onix Bliss Pink Carbon' (IH6459) · Adidas Gazelle Indoor Sneakers (JI2585)
Carbon is not black, and the difference matters on suede. adidas uses the name for a dark grey with a brown undertone, which under most light looks charcoal and in sunlight turns warmer than a true black ever would. The trims here are Off White and Cream White, two shades of the same idea, so the serrated three stripes and the heel tab read as softly lighter rather than as hard contrast. The result is a low-contrast shoe with more depth than a monochrome pair.
That restraint came from a run of Gazelles adidas put out on February 6, 2023 at $100, all sharing the same off-white and cream trim over different base colours. Carbon was the dark option in that set. Grey suede also wears in an unusual way: it does not scuff pale like a black pair or stain like a light one, it simply loses depth, so an old pair drifts closer to the cream trim and the contrast gradually disappears.