I’ve wanted a pair of Adidas Stan Smith sneakers for ages – all the cool girls I know own a pair and I’ve felt left out. That’s not the only reason, though. First, I like iconic objects, in fashion, design, everything. Second, it’s become difficult to imagine a modern wardrobe without white sneakers. And third, Stan Smiths really are very versatile, partly because they are iconic and white – we are by now used to seeing them in many different contexts. They are also quite reasonably priced, especially compared to many fancy sneakers available these days.

As is often the case with me, though, everything turned out differently. I had already picked the model I planned to by: the classic white, with the very understated blue-grey foam padding in the back of the shoe (understated may not be my thing, but I love that colour). The universe had other ideas, however – when I went to buy the pair, my size was no longer available. OK, I’ll check the great Interwebs then, I thought. But before I found my modest, classic version with blue-grey details, I found a brand new design by Raf Simons.

Well. The Raf Simons sneakers have none of the selling points I mentioned above. They are not immediately recognisable as Stan Smiths (there is velcro!), they are not white, they are not easy to pair with anything, and they cost thrice as much as the traditional version. So naturally I went ahead and bought the model in grey-orange-white-black.

I tend to make fun of people who buy a Chanel scrunchie just because it says “Chanel”. The uncomfortable truth is that I’m exactly the same, it’s just the magic names that are different. I’ve liked Simon’s work for years, I especially loved what he designed for Jil Sander – some of that stuff was pure genius. (I’ve written about Raf here, briefly, in case you’re interested.) But the point is, if Raf Simons did a scrunchie, I’d consider buying it.

These sneakers are not scrunchie territory, though, I honestly and truly like them. I think the colour combination is great and the velcro adds a fun touch (plus it’s very convenient). They look vaguely retro, but I like that you cannot really place them: there is something both eighties and seventies about them, but also echoes of sixties and nineties. Now I just need to figure out how to wear them.