There are sneakers you buy because you need them, sneakers you buy because they are everywhere, and then there are the sneakers that seem to disappear the moment they arrive. Enter the Celine/Reebok Freestyle Lo: the sneakers that have turned one of Reebok’s most recognizable silhouettes into a cult item. First introduced by Reebok in 1982 and long associated with the era of aerobics, the Freestyle Lo has now been given a distinctly Parisian makeover under Celine creative director Michael Rider—and suddenly, a sneaker with four decades of history feels like the most covetable shoe of the season.
The premise is pretty brilliant. Take the archival Freestyle Lo, strip it back to its essential shape, reinterpret it in supple lambskin, add Celine’s unmistakable branding, and offer it in a tightly edited palette ranging from optic white and black to butter yellow, peanut, oxblood, and fluo red. Rider’s vision for Celine has been through the lens of Parisian style codes and American heritage, and nowhere is that co-mingling more apparent than here.
The Celine/Reebok partnership officially arrived in September, transforming the sportswear classic into a luxury collector’s item. After the launch, sizes and colorways disappeared rapidly, with the sneakers selling through much of its stock almost immediately in some markets. In other words, the hardest part may not be deciding whether you want the shoe—it may be finding one.
THE CAMPAIGN
FREESTYLE LO BY CELINE/REEBOK SNEAKERS
