Stella McCartney Veganizes Iconic “Stan Smith” Adidas Sneakers

The first vegan Stan Smith sneakers are now available for pre-order and will be in stores on September 10. Animal-friendly designer Stella McCartney partnered with Adidas to re-design the iconic shoe style, swapping out animal-based leather with recycled polyurethane. Each pair of the new Stan Smiths feature star designs in place of stripes on the sides, a color-block heel with McCartney’s signature, and embossed tongues—with McCartney’s portrait on the right and tennis legend Stan Smith’s on the left. “Many years ago, I was given a special pair of vegetarian leather Stan Smiths by my husband and Adidas,” McCartney told Vogue. “It occurred to me that you really couldn’t tell the difference between the real leather and the faux leather pair. I could not help but think [of] how many animals’ lives could be saved if Stan Smith and Adidas would change from real leather to vegetarian leather, and use non-animal-based glues.” McCartney has made many strides during her decades-long career to remove animal products from the fashion industry, including her latest clothing collection which features animal-free fur coats, jumpsuits, and accessories.