Sports brands have long tread on difficult, sometimes contradictory ground between performance clothing and fashion. I remember many many years ago my mum refusing to buy me a pair of Adidas Samba when I was a kid. She insisted very sensibly that despite being made by a sportswear company the shoes were badly designed and would damage my feet.
That opinion's recently been backed up by a bevy of TikTok fashion influencers, and – it seems – now even by Adidas itself. In what must be one of the most misjudged brand social media reactions in recent history, the sportswear giant has suggested that you “Gotta sacrifice for the look”.
