Are These “Slavery” Sneakers, Or Just Kicks With Chains?

Oh, Jeremy Scott, you've gone and stepped in it now! The Los Angeles fashion provocateur has raised more than a few eyebrows with his latest shoe for Adidas Originals, the JS Roundhouse Mids — a sneaker outfitted with cartoonish plastic chains. Well known for sticking angel wings on the sides of high tops, Scott is a veteran at such overwrought accessorizing. Unfortunately, the chains on these kicks have conjured the horrid notion of American slavery for some observers.

Now that Adidas has already pulled the sneaks from stores, it's pretty clear that that the inspiration for them came from My Pet Monster rather than any dark patch of history, and the fact that the shoes have been on the market for a while gives this controversy a tiny, hollow ring. Nonetheless, the lack of foresight here — particularly considering how truly progressive we know the designer to be — is pretty galling. Look, we're pretty sure he isn't a racist — but we're even more sure that he or someone on his team could have spent five, maybe six seconds thinking about the implications of this design and thus saved everyone a whole lot of grief. Sheesh.

What's your take on these manacled high tops? Let us know in the comments. (Brand Channel)