adidas Gazelle 'Earth Strata'
Colorway: Earth Strata/Brown/Gum · Style code: IG4989 · Release date: August 30, 2023 · Price: $516 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: adidas Gazelle Indoor 'Earth Strata' (JQ8398) · adidas Gazelle Indoor 'Earth Strata' (IF9646) · Adidas Gazelle 85 'Earth Strata' (IG6220) · adidas Wmns Gazelle 'Earth Strata' (IG4392) · adidas Wmns Gazelle Bold 'Earth Strata' (IH4202)
Earth Strata sits between taupe and clay, a warm brown with enough grey in it to stop short of tan, and on suede it looks like a natural dye rather than a chosen colour. The contrast here is another brown, deeper and redder, so the shoe has no light trim at all and depends on the difference between two close tones for its definition. Gum rubber underneath makes a third warm element, which means there is not a cool colour anywhere on the pair.
That is unusual for the model. Most Gazelles use a white or cream trim to keep the silhouette legible; this one lets the shape soften instead, and the result reads more like a desert boot than a trainer from a distance. It went out on August 30, 2023 at $100. Brown suede is also the most forgiving finish in the family, since dirt and scuffing sit within the range of colours already on the shoe rather than showing up against them.