In the early ’90s, during the infancy of now one of the world’s largest companies, Apple, the wildly ambitious tech start-up was largely inclusive in its dealings. For one, Steve Jobs, the adored founder was a New Balance 992 lifer. Yet to brand his budding company, Apple creating a shoe in its likeness that became one of the most desired cultural relics of its time.
Only reaching the prototype stage, and worn singularly by a select few within the company before essentially being shelved, the mall walker was, at the time, nothing to give a second thought to. Yet as sneaker styling slowly turned back to that era, it became something of a phenomenon. It was the ultimate dad shoe. And for an industry fixated on styles with that same orientation, it quickly transitioned into the holy grail of dad shoes fetching upwards to $30,000 online for the very few deadstock pairs in existence.
While Apple itself has never recreated the shoe in-house, footwear brands have certainly leaned into its style and likeness. In the not-so-distant past, Versace previewed a sneaker very similar to the Apple pair. They, of course, replaced Apple with Versace branding, but otherwise, it was an eerily close one-to-one.
Concepts this week announced a new partnership with Parisian walking shoe manufacturer Mephisto to create a luxury version of the legendary Apple computing sneaker.
This pair isn’t exactly an a-alike in the sense that Salehe Bembury of Versace design was. It’s a bulkier style with enhanced molding and shaping, although still arrives in a similar space as the timeless ’90s design. This pair is also done in premium materials, adorned in a high-grade leather and an ultra-chunky midsole.
There are, too, remnants of the classic design through the iconic rainbow logo. Yet much of this recreation is meant to serve a much younger and street savvy audience. In essence, it’s meant to serve the computer age while paying tribute to the earliest moments of personal computing.
Look for the Mephisto x Concepts “Apple” sneaker on April 19 for $390.
