Brand: Giuseppe Zanotti
Model: COBRAS
Buy: Online at Giuseppe Zanotti’s website
Editor’s Notes: Giuseppe Zanotti, master of the sky-high stiletto, added a new sneaker to his lineup and — respectfully — it looks like if Joe Exotic got really obsessed with reptiles and started designing footwear.
Dubbed the “COBRAS,” the fully tonal silhouette is essentially a low-top Air Force 1 with a three-dimensional “snake” that wraps around the midsole and onto the toe box.
Zanotti tapped none other than Young Thug to star in a campaign launching the OTT shoe.
The rapper, who manages to make eccentric wares including wide-brimmed hats and Minion slippers look chic, pulls off the COBRAS with panache.
“For me, Giuseppe is like a chameleon,” Young Thug said. “He’s got the Italian style thing down but knows how to change it up and layer in the unexpected, the street. It’s fire.”
As bizarre as the COBRAS is, the design harkens to Zanotti’s history of serpentine designs. Some of the label’s most recognizable heels are constructed with straps that wrap around the foot and ankle, recalling the sinewy shape of a snake.
“I have always loved the symbolism of the snake… It is a powerful and dynamic motif I have explored in many collections, but never before on a sneaker,” Zanotti explained. “I wanted the [COBRAS] to feel larger than life.”
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