Adidas’ Influential German Army Trainer Is Making a Comeback
The original German Army Trainer is making a comeback — or at least the version with the best claim as the true originator.
The Adidas BW Army Lux sees a high quality build usher in the return of the influential sneaker. Two colorways kick things off, as the cracked leather and suede upper is available in either all-black or tonal white. Both versions then feature a gum outsole and sockliner in natural leather.
Recordkeeping on the history of the German Army Trainer, aka the “GAT,” still leaves some uncertainty as to where exactly it hails from. In a Wall Street Journal story seeking to clear up the fog, an Adidas spokesperson said the company produced what was then known as the BW-Sport for the West German Army in the ’80s and ’90s.
The Bundeswehr History Museum in Dresden said its records only point to Puma as the producer, but Puma itself says it has no documentation of any such contributions.
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Less nebulous is what happened after. The Berlin wall fell, Germany was unified and surplus GATs began making their way to the public. Designers who have replicated the low-profile sneaker abound, but none more famously than Margiela with its Replica 22 a few years after using surplus GATs for its spring 1999 runway show.
Early last year, the Instagram-based sneaker publication Hartcopy chose the BW Army as the model for its debut Adidas collaboration. An bigger in-line revival of the model comes now after another T-toed Adidas model, the Samba, has ushered in a trim for similarly flat and humble sneakers.
The Adidas BW Army Lux “Black” “White” have quietly began to rollout, as Extra Butter already has both colorways on sale. Additional retailers have an April 1 release date confirmed, and a wider release through Adidas should follow soon as well. Pricing is set at $120.
