Pharrell Williams and adidas have unveiled the VIRGINIA Watermoc in a colorway nicknamed “Starfish,” debuting the shoe during Paris Fashion Week alongside four other colorways. The silhouette is a modern reimagining of the adidas Equipment Water Moc from 1997, a shoe built around aquatic utility that largely faded from public memory after its original run.
adidas has been one of the most consistent forces in sneaker history, building its reputation across performance sport, street culture, and designer collaboration over decades. The three stripes brand has a long tradition of revisiting archival models and giving them new life, and that is exactly what is happening here. The Equipment line, launched in the early 1990s, was adidas stripping its footwear back to pure function, removing anything it considered unnecessary and building shoes around specific athletic purposes. The Water Moc sat within that family as a niche, activity-specific design meant to hold up around water, with construction choices that reflected that intent. It never became a mainstream staple, which makes it a natural candidate for the kind of archival excavation that enthusiast audiences respond to.
Pharrell Williams is the collaborator at the center of this project. He has worked with adidas across multiple projects over the years, operating as both a designer and a cultural figure who brings significant visibility to whatever he attaches his name to. His ongoing relationship with adidas has produced a range of footwear and apparel, and his ability to surface obscure or overlooked models is a consistent thread through his collaborative work. The VIRGINIA Watermoc fits that pattern, a shoe most people have never seen paired with a collaborator who has a track record of making people pay attention.
The adidas VIRGINIA Watermoc “Starfish” was introduced at Paris Fashion Week as part of a five-colorway debut. Pricing, a specific release date, and retail destinations have not been confirmed in available information. If you want to stay close to this one, checking adidas directly for updates is your best starting point, and it is also worth exploring other Pharrell x adidas releases to get a sense of where this collaboration has been and where it is headed.
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Source: Sneaker Bar Detroit
