Emily Ratajkowski has always been into her retro sneakers. Adidas Sambas! Puma Palermos! Vans Slip-Ons! Basically, if there’s an athletic shoe introduced anytime between the ’40s and the ’80s, chances are she has them in her collection. But at the end of last week while she was out walking her dog in New York City, the American model broke out the Brain Dead x Oakley Team Flesh. And it was a very clear and very obvious sign that she’s entering her experimental sneaker era—and what a time to be alive.
When you think of Oakley, you probably think of its sunglasses. But two years ago, Los Angeles streetwear label Brain Dead dove deep into the brand’s 2000s archives to bring back the Team Flesh. As its name already kinda suggests, it’s one of the freakiest silhouettes in existence. And Ratajkowski was sporting the elusive ‘Python’ colorway from the Fall-Winter 2023 collection, easily one of the maddest sneakers on the market right now.
Gotham
Featuring a stretchy neoprene construction, the ‘Python’ is overlaid by panels of calf leather that’s designed to look like snakeskin. Big glossy purple blobs hit the lateral and medial sidewalls, and all of this sits on top of a chunky gray rubber midsole. The Gone Girl actress then wore it with a pink striped shirt (sans sleeves), some burgundy flared trousers, and an orange designer handbag that looked just like a paper bag.
At the end of last year, Oakley introduced a beefier version of the Team Flesh called the Team Edge. It had the same sort of insane aesthetic, and British GQ’s Murray Clark even called it his favorite sneaker of 2023: “As the name strongly implies, it’s a trainer with all the chainmail of a real romper stomper. Which means a super thick sole (one that takes its cue from Oakley’s best-selling [Team Flesh], FYI), and a silhouette that’s chunky without verging on fucking ridiculous.”
The experimental sneaker age of Emily Ratajkowski is upon us. And if the Brain Dead x Oakley Team Flesh is only just the start of it all, we’re gassed to see what other crazy kicks she’ll be adding to her rotation soon.
This story originally appeared on British GQ with the title ‘Emily Ratajkowski is the new mad queen of insane sneakers’
