Despite a loyal cult following, the Spezial is a black sheep of the Three Stripes catalog.
With a low-profile look and gum-rubber outsole, the shoe is often mistaken for the ever-popular Samba model.
However, the name has never quite reached the heights of its high-profile sister shoe, despite countless colorways and cool suede upper.
A new Spezial under the brand’s “Made in Germany” banner may finally change that.
Spezial treatment
To be clear, noting its place of manufacture is more than a mere matter of provenance.
Like New Balance’s “Made in USA” and “Made in UK” programs, “Made in Germany” represents Adidas’s antidote to the mass-produced shoes it manufactures overseas.