Patta X Diadora Ic4000 (09:79)
At the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games, Jamacian-born Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson shattered the 100m world record with a time of just 9.79 seconds. Three days later, the -sponsored athlete was stripped of the record – and the gold medal that came with it – after testing positive to anabolic steroids. In the lead up to Rio 2016, Diadora have been making light of their unfortunate association to the disgraced athlete with a collection of European colabs themed around this controversial moment in Olympic history.
Dutch retailer 's contribution to the is an made of plum nubuck and creamy nylon mesh. Rich blue branding, pastel rose highlights and a grey heel counter round out the colour combo on this Italian-made vintage runner. Patta are yet to offer an official explanation for the colouring on this colab, but the '09:79' text on the outsole and and innersole – together with the map of Jamaica printed on the innersole – make the reference to the controversial athlete clear.
A tie-in apparel collection has also been created, consisting of an athletic track jacket, sports shirt and duffel bag.
The Patta x Diadora IC4000 '09:79' and tie-in apparel collection will release August 5 through Patta, both in-store and , as well as select Diadora stockists.