Maison Margiela and Reebok announce The Question Memory Of, Zig 3D Storm Memory Of and Instapump Fury Memory Of: the newest trainers conceived through their ongoing creative dialogue. Released to stores on 20 May 2022 in tonal white and in tonal black, the shoes follow the Club C and Classic Leather, which rolled out earlier this season. For the latest chapter in the Parisian fashion house’s collaboration with the American sportswear brand, creative director John Galliano interprets a series of Reebok classics through Maison Margiela’s signature concept known as the memory of.

The technique evokes the impression of familiar elements through the deconstruction of garments and accessories. It is the visual recollection of an object or feeling that is no longer materially visible, but palpable through an outline or suggestion: the memory of something that once was. An established part of the evolving grammar of Maison Margiela, the memory of draws on the illusionary and often figurative codes of the house’s creative practice. Applied to the traditional sneaker designs of Reebok, the technique highlights identifiable facets engrained in our collective memory and activates our shared visual perception.

Based on Reebok’s classic design but reinterpreted through the memory of, The Question Memory Of reshuffles the original shoe’s pattern pieces to uncover its seam allowance. Notably, the recognizable signature lace loops are shifted to the middle of the tongue. Through this move, the oval holes are used as eyelets, creating lacing reminiscent of gillies. Employing the technique of decortiqué – Maison Margiela’s term for cutting up an item to reveal the structure that holds it together – parts of the sneaker’s padded areas have been cut to reveal the inside foam as well as the protective tricot mesh overlay. The tongue and its oval are treated with hexalite normally found in the midsole of a shoe. In place of the number 3 originally featured on the outsole – a nod to basketballer Allen Iverson for whom the sneaker was created in 1996 – a debossed number 22 on the heel, signifies the footwear code in Maison Margiela’s numeric labelling. The Question Memory Of is constructed in tumbled leather and features an EVA midsole with hexalite detailing and an iced TPU outsole.

The Zig 3D Storm Memory Of retains the original sneaker’s identifiable zig-shaped outsole but inverts the upper to expose the authentic tech detailing found within its construction. Through this process, the shoe’s moulded heel padding is revealed while the breathable perforation of its spliced tongue is used for lacing. A transparent window cut above the outsole uncovers the printed shell and graphics of the shoe’s interior. On the toe, the Reebok vector logo is applied in frayed cotton twill laminated in foil. The Zig 3D Storm Memory Of is crafted from its own inside out microfibre lining as well as clear nylon, cotton twill and foil. It features an EVA-filled TPU sole and Maison Margiela’s stitch logo.

The Instapump Fury Memory Of renders the original sneaker in the vein of an exploded-view drawing, separating its familiar components to evoke its initial form. The back of the shoe is remodeled using the flexible bridges which normally appear in the middle hole of the pump bladder from which the sneaker takes its name. Utilizing Reebok’s The Pump Technology, an inflation technology developed in 1989 to offer athletes a customed, locked-in fit, the bladder itself increases in volume, adding to the floaty relief look of the design – a detail similarly echoed in the effect of the seam allowance. Peeling away the shoe’s layers, the foam around the heel is exposed in its natural colour along with mesh applied the toe. The flame-shaped mudguard around the toe box is largely stripped of seams, fueling the three-dimensional relief impression. The Instapump Fury is constructed in mesh and fabric-covered TPU and features an EVA sole with hexalite detailing and a TPU outsole.

 The Maison Margiela x Reebok Question Memory Of, Zig 3D Storm Memory Of and Instapump Fury Memory Of will be available from May 20th in select Maison Margiela stores and on maisonmargiela.com and reebok.com/maison_margiela with a suggested retail price of $ 400.

FASHIONADO