Most people had no clue who Jeremy Scott was until this week, when Adidas debuted his Winter 2012 collection.
It included the "JS Roundhouse Mid," a shoe topped off with plastic shackles. Claims of racism and insensitivity regarding slavery soon followed and late last night Adidas pulled the plug on the shoe.
The American fashion designer is known for his outrageous designs. He has partnered with Adidas since the mid-2000s. Within the sneaker world, his Wings collection is the iconic center of the brand's Originals Collection. Among celebrities, he is a favorite of Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry and others.
The shackle shoe is just the tip of the iceberg.
Jeremy Scott x Adidas JS Wings
Prior to the recent controversy, Scott's most famous work with Adidas came with his popular Wings series. This was a 2009 model featuring 3D wings in place of the famous Adidas stripes.
If you needed something flashier
These JS Wings 2.0 are in gold and feature a more pronounced wings. Old school Adidas fans will enjoy the classic three stripes.
The Shackle Shoes
Here's the only reason why most of you know or have seen Scott's work, the JS Roundhouse Mid, aka the shackle shoe. This was part of Scott's Winter 2012 preview. After photos were posted on Facebook, some criticized the design for making light of slavery. Yesterday, Adidas announced it was pulling the shoe.
Here's the statement from Adidas via Darren Rovell:
Our collaboration with Jeremy Scott has always stood for creativity & originality. Jeremy Scott is renowned as a designer whose style is quirky & lighthearted & his previous shoe designs for adidas Originals have, for example, included panda heads & Mickey Mouse. The design of the JS Roundhouse Mid is nothing more than the designer Jeremy Scott's outrageous & unique take on fashion & has nothing to do with slavery. Since teh shoe debuted on our Facebook page ahead of its market release in August, adidas has received both favorable & critical feedback. We apologize if people are offended by the design & we are withdrawing our plans to make them available to the marketplace.
The New York Observer's Foster Kamer has an interesting view on the inspiration on the shoes, hint—it's not slavery.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.