Friday, April 7, 2006

On a mission

by Suw on April 7, 2006

Adidas have reissued the Gazelle. I have a pair of Campus which are over a decade old and which were still serving me well until Christmas in Brugge when one started to leak. I loved them, and the Gazelle is a very similar design. I am on a mission to find a pair. Right now.
I'm in my fifth shop. First had them in blue but not my size. Second was 30 quid more expensive than the first. Adidas sent me to Office who don't have them in blue. Now waiting in Foot Locker to see if they have a pair.
…damn. None. The hunt continues…
UPDATE: OK, so we can count this mission as being partially successful. I ended up going to eight stores, none of which had the light blue Gazelles in my size. Eventually, I ended up in a store with black Gazelles in my size, by which time I was starting to feel less like I was on a mission and more like I wanted to poke someone with a sharp stick. Friday night is never the best night to go shopping.
The thing is, I have had only one other pair of trainers* since buying my Campus some 12 or so years ago, when they (and especially the Gazelle) were popularised by Britpop luminary Damon Albarn. Somehow, this style of footwear just taps into something fundamental in my psyche, the same way that For Tomorrow or Entertain Me did. I never looked at any other trainers in the same way, never wanted on my feet the huge, ugly carbuncles that pass for footwear now. All I ever wanted was a replacement for my trusty Campus… but if you wait around long enough, out-of-date eventually becomes retro-cool.
I hadn't realised that Adidas has reissued the Gazelle until I saw one in a shop yesterday, having decided that a weekend showing T'Other's brother and wife around London required comfy trainers of some description and that the need was so great I was willing to entertain all sorts of horribleness on my feet in order to get it. I was utterly delighted to see the understated, subtle form of the Gazelle on the shelves, but from the looks of it, I wasn't the only one to have formed a strong bond to my old pair. From the dreadful scarcity, I'd say that a whole generation of Britpop fans are now walking round in brand-new Gazelles. Light blue, size 6.
* That's 'sneakers' to you Americans

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