Shoes can be artworks in their own right, from the ideas behind their design to the ways people make them their own. With London Art Week bringing the city’s creative community together, adidas Originals and Dazed celebrated the Stan Smith with an evening dedicated to art, fashion and music, hosted in collaboration with Spanish artist Coco Capitán.
Taking over Ruin at 180 Strand, the party welcomed more than 300 guests to celebrate the iconic sneaker and the creatives giving it a new perspective.
Ruin at 180 Strand got the full Stan Smith treatment, with the undergound space decked out in the shoe’s signature green and split into three chapters dedicated to fashion, art and music. Guests entered through an immersive tunnel displaying adidas’ SS27 Stan Smith line-up, before coming across television screens showing behind-the-scenes footage of Coco Capitán creating her commissioned artworks.
Hosted in collaboration with Coco Capitán, the evening featured three bespoke artworks by the Spanish artist, each bearing one of her distinctive aphorisms: “I Will Not Fall In Love With Just The One Idea”, “Break Point” and “Play Harder”. Her handwritten phrases gave the Stan Smith a fresh artistic perspective, while footage of her working offered a glimpse into the process behind the pieces.
Music was a big part of the night, with Ledbyher delivering a special live performance and DJs Kemarr, Ok Williams and Jordss taking care of the soundtrack all evening. Between the performances, the installations and the popular pool table in the space, there was plenty to keep guests entertained throughout the evening.
More than 300 guests from across art, fashion, music and design came together for the occasion, including Aidan Zamiri, Kai-Isaiah Jamal, Jefferson Hack, Pa Salieu, John Glacier, Ryan Heffington, Taiba Akhuetie, Jawara Alleyne, Bibi Abdulkadir, Zeze Millz, Bianca Saunders, Foday Dumbuya and Mia Barker. With so many of the city's creative voices in one room, the evening was a fitting celebration of the Stan Smith’s place in culture, past and present.
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