Oktoberfest is coming up, and that means large mugs of beer, lederhosen, absurd amounts of bratwurst, and piles of beer-stained clothes. This year, though, you don’t have to worry about beer-stained shoes thanks to Adidas. The footwear company better known for Yeezys and Stan Smiths is getting into the beer scene.
This year, Oktoberfest will begin when the mayor of Munich taps the honorary first keg at noon on September 16th. The festivities are expected to run until October 3rd.
Adidas is capitalizing on the German festivities with a new Oktoberfest sneaker. At first, I thought the brown-gold color scheme was clever. But I was skeptical when they began comparing the leather material of the shoe to lederhosen, the traditional German leather pants. My skepticism turned into amusement when the lederhosen comparison was followed by this functional advertisement: “Finest leather with DPBR coating make a durable puke & beer repellent upper.”
I’ve certainly had a few pitchers during Oktoberfest, but I’ve never seen it as an event that’s purely about getting hammered. It supposed to be a communal celebration where good food and even better beer bring friends and loved ones together. And sure, its possible to have a few too many, but it is a public event, so it might be wise to be respectful, especially if you’re a foreigner visiting another country. So generally, I don’t think avoiding puke should be a huge obstacle. Spilled beer on the other hand, well, that’s unavoidable.
The shoe does have some other cool features such as a “prost” (the German word for cheers) insignia next to the golden stripes. And the embroidery on the golden heel is intricate and unique. So, while funny, the puke proof coating should be unnecessary. The beer proof part is a good idea. Let’s see if the soles get sticky though.
