Adidas And Jeremy Scott Were Forced to Defend This Sneaker

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LA-based Jeremy Scott's designs for Adidas are the stuff of sneakerhead fantasies. In the past, his quirky, statement-making kicks have featured wings and even stuffed gorillas. Typically, his light-hearted inspirations are pop-culture in nature—recently, he sent out an entire runway full of men's and women's clothes inspired by The Simpsons. But now, Scott and Adidas are finding themselves at the center of a strange bubble of negative chatter spawned by Internet commenters who have interpreted one of his recent shoe designs, above, as racist.

The Observer has an excellent article about the fauxtroversy, noting that the handcuff design of the shoe was pretty obviously a riff on My Pet Monster, a plush toy that was popular in the '80s and '90s. Jeremy's Twitter fans have come to his side in support; about an hour ago the designer Tweeted the following, with a link to a TwitPic of My Pet Monster: "My work has always been inspired by cartoons, toys & my childhood."
· The Actual Inspiration for Jeremy Scott’s Not-’Racist’ Adidas Sneakers: My Pet Monster [NYO]
· Adidas criticized for 'shackles' sneakers, denies link to slavery [The Look]
· LA-Based Designer Jeremy Scott Took björk to Amoeba [Racked]