adidas Vienna Made In West Germany

adidas Vienna 

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MADE IN: WEST GERMANY

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adidas Vienna… you know the ones, white with red stripes and stunning to boot, this legendary shoe is without a doubt a thing of beauty. Despite very few upgrades over the years, the classic silhouette design remains flawless and highly respected from the pure classic trainer devotees of the 3 stripe brand.

While not necessarily part of the vast “City Series” but highly associated with it over the years it eventually fell into place with the other capital city trainers as the origins of this model goes way back to 1966 .Originally made in West Germany as an indoor Sports/Leisure shoe, the Vienna has similar features to the earlier Rekord, with a soft white leather upper, wide suede toe bumper, foam based midsole and wave patterned rubber outsole.

The earliest variants had no heel capping and maroon or dark red leather stripes with the gold block adidas motif on the side. In 1971 following in the footsteps of the newly shaped adidas Rom, it adopted a more sports/turf orientated look with the introduction of the red heel capping. By 1980 they were in Yugoslavia, the Vienna and the Rom shared the same silhouette apart from the larger heel cap on the latter. Still remaining faithful in colour, with a red midsole both featured the now famous Trefoil patterned sole. A limited “Tricolour” version of the Vienna was also introduced with blue and red stripes and a very rare dark navy blue stripes version in 1982.

While it seems the older and wiser Rom continue to outsell most of its contemporaries, the Vienna has become incredibly sought after with vintage connoisseurs and modern collectors alike. Despite several reissues it remains an undisputed head turner of a collector’s classic holy grail.

Text: Scott Ptolomey