crooked tongues magazine News Features

We don't normally do the "closer look" thing once we've featured some footwear. If you've seen it in one shoot you're probably good to go. But then again, not all shoes cost £185. With that in mind we decided to feature the adidas Consortium Made in Germany München again on the build up to its release this Saturday. So what do these special editions have that the inline editions don't? The shoe just feels more correct in its shape — a less synthetic take on one of our favourite shoes ever, with a more rough hewn feel and superior build quality. The München's not a heavyweight shoe, so it's just as featherweight as it usually is — if we're going to get biblical and judge monetary value by weight, it's a hard sell. For those that inspect the stitching, tongue, 3-stripes and footbed, the point-of-difference that the Made in Germany status of this release offers should become apparent.

What the teaser shots of the shoe omitted was the packaging - that green sticker with the vintage fonts and perforated trefoil detailing is beautiful, replicating the original box (bar the necessary 21st century labeling on the other side of it), but in a world where vintage themed retros have to be dealt a death blow with unrealistic faux yellowing (the unwanted CGI special effects of the sneaker world) it's nice that adidas have avoided the temptation to pre-fade the cardboard box. You've got the rest of your life to grow old with these and let that happen by itself. It's curious to see two sides of the sneaker world get significant drops on the same day — a Jordan IV a fully restored German-made München. They're both retrospective pieces made as a response to feedback with some special packaging, but we have to give adidas the nod, for going beyond the call of duty to make a special release a feel special.

But we still understand why that price tag is liable to cause some sleepless nights over the next few days. If you like this iteration of the München dynasty of EVA soled classics, you'll be happy that you own these. If you're on the fence, they're fantastic in the flesh. And if you're hunting the hype, you won't find it here — just the best of a brand.