Initially debuted at the British designer’s Summer 2025 runway show during Paris Fashion Week, the unisex style was worn both on and off the runway by changemakers from Stella McCartney and adidas’ shared communities, including sporting legends Tom Daley and Anna Hall, and model Alex Consani, who features in the campaign. The Rasant’s high-top silhouette is crafted from vegan materials and references vintage racing shoes as well as a style worn during Stella’s first-ever collection presentation with her eponymous fashion house in 2001.
The Rasant name comes from the German word for ‘rapid’, a nod to the silhouette’s racing roots – taking inspiration from the iconic adidas Monza sneaker, worn in the 1970s and 80s. Stella McCartney styled models in the iconic sneaker for her brand’s inaugural Spring Summer 2002 runway collection in October 2001, which started conversations that led to their future partnership: adidas by Stella McCartney. The presentation’s aesthetic has since become brand codes; an unexpected juxtaposition of sexiness and sportiness, feminine and masculine.
The outline has been modernised with an innovative construction in cruelty-free, animal-free alternatives to nubuck leather. The Rasant’s unisex design is a signature fusion of high performance and high fashion, including cascading layered laces on fabric giving movement, a natural colour palette and streamlined shape.
The Rasant’s design DNA is coded with the iconic adidas Monza sneaker, worn by legendary race-car driver Mario Andretti at various points throughout the 1977 and 1978 racing seasons. A high-top version was introduced in 1980. The iconic sneaker was subsequently worn by French Rallye driver Michèle Mouton, a female pioneer in racing.
Stella McCartney and adidas have built a legacy of supporting boundary-breaking athletes since the adidas by Stella McCartney collaboration launched in 2005 The partnership was among the first of its kind, and outfitted Team GB at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The collaboration is entirely vegan and strives to push the limits of innovation with high-performance sportswear materials with lower environmental impacts.
